SWORD DUEL IN FRANCE

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 November 1934, Page 12

SWORD DUEL IN FRANCE

MAYOR WOUNDS LAWYER. PARIS, October 7. There was an unexpected sequel this morning to the riots of last February. This was a duel between M. Guy La Chambre, who was Minister of Mercantile Marine in the Daladier Government, and Maitre Jacques Renouvin, a- lawyer at the Paris Court of Appeal. A day or two ago M. La Chambre, who is Mayor and deputy for St. Servan, near St. Malo, was driving his car near his official residence when lie was held - up by traffic, and Maitre Renouviii struck him on the. face with his gloves and said, “I was one of the February demonstrators. You are an assassin.” At the same time the lawyer flung his card into the ex-Minister’s car. Seconds were appointed and M. La Chambre, as the insulted party, chose swords as the weapons.

At a quarter past eight this morning the two adversaries met on the Malleville racecourse near St. Servan. In addition to their seconds there were two doctors in attendance, while M. Cattiau, the father of the well-knoVn fencer, acted as referee. It was obvious frorii the start that it was a serious duel. It had lasted for less than two 'minutes, however, when the ex-Ministefc 1 wounded his opponent in the right arm and the doctors stopped the fight. So far as the seconds and the doctors were concerned, honour had been satisfied, but M. La Chambre and Maitre Renouvin refused to be reconciled.