SENSATION IN PARIS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3594, 30 January 1923, Page 22

SENSATION IN PARIS.

JOURNALIST SHOT BY A WOMAN. PARIS, January 22, A woman anarchist this afternoon shot dead Marius Plateau, Loyalist leader and editor of Action Erancaise. The assassin unsuccessfully attempted suicide. January 23. Madame Germaine Berthon, who shot M. Marius Plateau, is believed to have been inspired by motives of personal or polical hate. M. Plateau was busy at his office, when she called and asked to see him. He ordered that she should be shown in. A few minutes later tlie staff heard sounds of a violent quarrel, and they were about to intervene when a shot was fired. The door was opened, and Berthon appeared with a revolver in her hand. She put the weapon to her forehead, but a member of the staff struck her band aside and disarmed her. Berthon refused to answer police questions. In reprisal for the murder 200 Royalist youths raided the offices of L’CEuvre and L’Ere Nouvelle, two Radical newspapers. They entered the printing offices and broke the windows and furniture and the linotypes. They then proceeded to the office of L’Humanite, a Communist newspaper, but they were prevented from entering. Several arrests were made. The woman Berthon is well known to the police. She had been sentenced for insulting the police and for housebreaking, and she knew the Anarchist Bouvett, who attempted last year to assassinate M. Millerand. Letters found at Bouvett's residence indicate that the woman had attempted to assassinate the American Ambassador.

Seven out of 100 youthful rioters, calling themselves “Camelots de Roi,” were arrested during the on the newspaper offices. Two police were injured in the scrimmage at L’Ere Nouvelle office.