Two Priests Assaulted

La Provence, the local paper of southern France, reports on a sadistic crime against two priests. This is a condensed version of the report:

Two priests were assaulted on Wednesday evening in a villa in Aubagne by two armed and masked criminals, who tortured and terrorized them, convinced that they were hiding gold bars somewhere in the house.

The burglars, certain they had found a goldmine, terrorized the men for two hours, but the priests could not reveal the location of a treasure that only existed in the minds of the criminals.

They had broken in at about 9:00 p.m. while the priest, 64, and his apprentice, 31, were in the salon. After breaking down the entry door, the two criminals were face to face with the two terrified priests, who looked down the barrel of a rifle. "Give us the gold!" they shouted, but in reply there were only timid denials.

So they forced the owner, who did not have the key, to lead them to the safe. Convinced the loot was inside, one of the hold-up men cut through the door with an electric saw. But the safe was empty. This made them angrier, and one grabbed a paper cutter and threatened the priest one last time. Since there was no response, he planted his weapon inside the ear of the victim and cut several centimeters of his flesh.

This mutilation not being sufficient, he grabbed his finger and inflicted another wound, threatening to amputate. The priest repeated that he had nothing. Out of spite, the assailants bound the two, locked them up in a room and fled, empty-handed.

Terrorized, the priests tried to get free. Finally, the younger man broke loose, and alerted a neighbor who called the police. They found the two priests in a state of shock, and took them to the ER.

It seems that during a court proceeding in 2002 involving the priest's family, the presence of these gold bars had been revealed. The hold-up men must have known this information.

Somehow, this does not sound like immigrant crime. But it could be. The article indicates that the older man suffered physical and moral injuries, and his condition was listed as serious. The city of Aubagne, not far from Marseille, where this crime took place, is the birthplace of Marcel Pagnol, author of Marius, Fanny and César, the Marseille Trilogy. The current mayor of Aubagne is a Communist. Let's hope he cares enough to do his job impartially.