Assassination attempt rifleman goes on trial

A man accused of trying to gun down President Jacques Chirac at a national holiday parade two years ago goes on trial today facing a life sentence.

Maxime Brunerie, 27, an alleged member of an extreme-right group, has admitted he intended to assassinate Chirac at the 2002 Bastille Day parade on July 14, 2002, judicial officials have said.

Positioned among parade watchers on the Champs-Elysees, Brunerie is accused of pulling a rifle from a guitar case and firing a shot as Chirac rode by in a convertible.

Bystanders pushed the rifle’s barrel into the air as the shot went off, and police wrestled the gunman to the ground. Chirac was not hurt.

Brunerie tried to shoot himself as he was being apprehended, and later told judicial officials he regretted not having enough time to kill himself because he had wanted to die famous.

In July, a French judge ordered Brunerie to stand trial on charges of attempted murder after experts said he was mentally impaired but at least partially responsible for his acts.

A verdict is expected on Friday.

“He did not act upon political motives,” defence lawyer Pierre Andrieu said last week. “He is waiting for this trial to turn the page.”

The defence team is expected to question three psychiatric evaluations that led investigating Judge Marie-Odile Bertella-Geffroy to rule that Brunerie was fit to stand trial.

Judicial officials say Brunerie carefully planned the attack. They allege he bought the gun a week before the parade, had practised shooting and had emptied his bank account to buy gifts for his friends beforehand.