Master of Your House

A seventy-three-year-old man, napping in his home in Nissan-Lez-Ensérune, was aroused by the sudden appearance of two women who had broken in. René Galinier took his shotgun, shot at the two women and seriously wounded them. He is now in jail for what they are calling a possible "involuntary homicide". The two women are not identified, but they may be Roms, part of a gypsy camp not far from his home.

The story has aroused a great deal of website commentary. Angry protests against his incarceration, from various political parties, including the Front National, the Ligue du Midi (a regional patriotic party in the south of France), and even some members of Sarkozy's UMP party, have filled many web pages since it all started on August 5.


There are so many sources of information, that I decided to stick to just one. These are excerpts from a long statement by Richard Roudier (left), head of the Ligue du Midi, posted at Novopress:

On the first day of Rene Galinier's arrest, I contacted his family and his lawyers. Making contact was facilitated by the fact that my family on my father's side is from the village, situated on the road to Narbonne, a few miles from Béziers, my home town. My great grandfather had even participated in the building of the Ensérune museum. I was able to verify a certain number of facts:

Thursday, mid-afternoon, René Galinier, 73, was napping when he heard the noise of shutters being tampered with and saw a hand come in. He got up, did not cry out, paralyzed by fear...

His first reflex was to get to the phone, first a cell phone that didn't work, then the land line... In his haste he dialed 18. He said to the firemen: "Call the gendarmes right away, they are breaking into my home..." Meanwhile, the burglars broke the window of another room and entered the house. In the darkness, René Galinier got his rifle from the closet and went to look for some old cartridges in a drawer. He again called the gendarmes: "They're there, come quickly." Seeing that no one came, he panicked... and shot blind. He called the gendarmes again and said: "That's it. I shot my rifle", and then handed his gun over to the policeman who was the first to arrive. Then, the two wounded persons - they were women - were taken to the hospital, while he was taken into custody.

He faced a judge unwilling to allow that a person can take justice into his own hands, and who regarded the act, even in self-defense, as reprehensible and as justification for the arrest.

Now a few questions that the people are entitled to ask:

- Is it true that the two burglars are gypsies from Eastern Europe?

- Is it true that the two burglars had been arrested for a similar deed last week, and that a judge decided to release them...

- Do they have any connection with the camp of 300 nomads who have been illegally occupying an area near the village?

- Is it true that the gendarmes placed security personnel around René Galinier's house and also around the village, from fear of reprisals against the family and the property of this retired man, and against the population?

- Is it true that an anonymous witness declared that "Twelve burglaries had been committed over the past several months on the street where René Galinier lives, and that he himself had been robbed three times...?

Support is growing for René Galinier.

The inhabitants of Nissan-Lez-Ensérune have drawn up a petition of solidarity with this septuagenarian, who was flag bearer of the Veterans of North Africa. A regional paper carries the headline: "The villagers demand that the retired man be released" and quotes some residents: "We are all behind him. He is a kind man, helpful. He is particularly quiet and he had only friends here... For two days, people have been coming by, asking where they can sign the petition... They don't understand."

The paper relates the concern of the people of Nissan who are constantly "watching cars that sometimes pass by more than once. Here, everyone fears the reprisals against René's house, now empty and sealed."

The right to self-defense has been trampled on.

For the Ligue du Midi, this matter is an opportunity to repeat that self-defense is a fundamental right and a civic duty; it is perfectly normal to protect oneself, one's family and one's property. Through its actions, the Ligue intends to honor anew this notion - too often ignored by a Justice system that is decidedly no longer in the service of honest people. This traumatic event shows us that violence committed by thugs is not inevitable and that if they (the thugs) sometimes appear so big to us, it is because we are on our knees. The Ligue will always be in solidarity at the side of our kinsmen who choose to rise up and resist.

He goes on to cite other examples similar to this case and points to Sarkozy's sham promises to clean up crime.

The Ligue du Midi demands:

- The immediate release of René Galinier and a nullification of the charges against him.

- The proper use of police forces in the protection of people and property, rather than as traffic cops.

- The generalization of the sacred right of self-defense and in particular, the acknowledgment of the home as sanctuary.

I have just requested a money order of 500 euros from the CEPE (Committee for Aid to European Prisoners) for René Galinier so that he can adequately defend himself and live decently in prison.

I will announce further initiatives in the days to come...

He gives the following information:

For the petition:

http://lapetition.be/en-ligne/petition-7914.html

For Facebook:

"Soutien à papy René Galnier le septuagénaire incarcéré".

To give a donation via the CEPE (Committee for Aid to European Prisoners):

CEPE
BP 4-7187 30914 - Nïmes Cedex
(specify that it is for René Galinier)

FYI, here is an excerpt from the communiqué issued by Marine Le Pen on the arrest of René Galinier:

(...) But the immediate arrest of this elderly man described as quiet and friendly by the entire village, appears totally abusive when you think that, in Nicolas Sarkozy's France, multi-recidivists, rapists and professional criminals, are systematically set free a few minutes after their crime was committed. (...)

This incarceration is all the more unjust because self-defensive acts, regrettable though they may be, are but the sign of the extreme abandonment felt by decent people confronted with the exasperating inertia of public authorities who guarantee impunity to criminals.

Finally, those of you who read French (but who are not French) will find that René Galinier, because of his age, is often referred to as "papy", roughly equivalent to "Gramps" or "Grandpa". A lot is made of his age, but in my opinion, his age was in his favor. He had been born and raised in a different culture and he knew that self-defense was a basic right. He acted like a much younger man - despite his fear, he had enough equanimity to call the police, to get the gun and the ammo and to shoot only when there was no other way.

Below, the logo of the Ligue du Midi. It reads "Masters in our House".