A 46-year-old man was shot dead at a nude beach near Lyon by a 76-year-old nudist after the victims allegedly harassed beach-goers and masturbated in front of a woman.
The incident took place at the La Mama beach in the Grand Parc Miribel Jonage near Lyon last Saturday at around 10:30 am and saw the 46-year-old allegedly harass multiple people at the nude beach but when he began to pleasure himself in front of a woman, the 76-year-old approached him.
When the pair began to argue the situation escalated and the 76-year-old shot the younger man at least three times with a shotgun in front of around a hundred other beach-goers, the newspaper 7sur7 reports.
At least one of the bullets hit the victim in the chest and while emergency services made attempts to revive the man, he died at the scene of the shooting. The elderly man who shot the victim was taken into police custody without incident and is said to have a legal permit to carry a firearm and is an avid hunter.
“He was brought before a judge on Monday morning. A judicial investigation has been opened for ‘murder’. The prosecutor’s office has requested a warrant of detention against the defendant,” public prosecutor Christophe Rode stated.
Nudism and topless sunbathing is a fairly popular pastime in France compared to many other countries, with a 2018 report from the Independent newspaper claiming that the number of people identifying as nudists in France had risen by more than 50 per cent in the four years prior.
Nudism was even suggested by some as a way to counter-protest Muslim women who wished to wear the Islamic swimwear known as the burkini in the pools of the city of Grenoble in 2019.
“Next Sunday, we invite all the citizens attached to the values of the Republic to get naked in front of the commandos in burkinis! They want to extinguish the enlightenment: together, let’s drop the bathrobes! Long live secularism uninhibited!” the counter-protesters said at the time.