News,

A prominent French pro-life leader has been shot dead during a city council meeting in Nanterre, near Paris. Mr Michel Raoult, leader and founder of Choisir la Vie, was a member of Nanterre's city council and was killed together with seven others when a gunman went on the rampage last night. 19 others were injured in the incident, which happened at 1.15 a.m. local time at the end of a late-night meeting. The gunman was Richard Durn, a 33-year-old with psychological problems, who had been sitting in the public gallery. French President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin visited the scene of the attack this morning and expressed their grief. SPUC, which worked with Michel Raoult in Europe, has expressed its shock and sadness at the news. [SPUC, 27 March]