ANARCHY IN FRANCE

Otago Witness, Issue 3566, 18 July 1922, Page 17

ANARCHY IN FRANCE

ATTEMPT TO SHOOT PRESIDENT. WRONG CARRIAGE FARED AT. LONDON, July 14. Bouvet, an Anarchist, attempted to shoot M. Miilerand (President of France) whilst returning in a carriage to the Elysee Palace. Bouvet fired into the wrong carriage. He was roughly handled before he was arrested. Bouvet, who is 22 years of age, declared that it was his intention to shoot M. Miilerand. The first motor-car contained M. Naudin, the new Paris Prefect of Police. The scene of the occurrence was in the Avenue de Martigny. Several official carriages were proceeding in a procession to the Elysee Palace. When within 100 vards of the palace entrance, Bouvet, who belongs to the Young Revolutionary Communist organisation, fired three shots at the first carriage. The occupants were not hurt, but a bystander (a woman) was wounded, and was sent to hospital. M. Miilerand occu pied the second carriage. NARROW ESCAPE FROM LYNCHING. PARIS, July 14. M. Miilerand was returning from a great review in celebration of Julv 14 (a festival marking the fall of the bastille in. 1789). His car entered the Avenue de Martigny preceded by two police cars, and followed by a squadron of mounted Spahis. It was probably this arrangement which led Bouvet to believe that the President was in the second of the two leading cars. Immediately he fired he tried to run away, but a cyclist policeman ran into his legs. Other police found difficulty in rescuing him from the crowd, which wanted to lynch him. M. Millarand, on arriving at the Elysee, congratulated M. Naudin on his escape. The latter replied, smilingly : “I have just received my baptism of fire in Paris/’ Bouvet declared that he did not wish to kill M. Miilerand, but merely to create a sensation and draw attention to the pre sent situation of the proletariat. Two revolvers were found in his possession.