French state sued over violence against women

A Frenchwoman whose sister and parents were murdered by the sister's former partner on Monday asked a court to find the state responsible for their deaths over its alleged failure to protect the family.

On August 4, 2014, after a car chase through the northern town of Grande-Synthe, Isabelle Thomas, a mother of two, and her parents were gunned down by Patrick Lemoine, an auto-repair technician.

Two months later Lemoine, whom Thomas had met in 2012 after separating from her husband, committed suicide in prison.

A few weeks before the triple murder, Thomas had reported Lemoine to the police for domestic violence after he attempted to strangle her.

He was arrested but later released on probation on condition he refrain from contacting the 49-year-old maths teacher pending his trial, scheduled for mid-August.

But the harassment continued unabated.

"He followed her to her lawyer and shoved her lawyer who in turn called the prosecutor. Isabelle filed a complaint and the prosecutor was informed in person but nothing was done," Isabelle Steyer, lawyer for the dead woman's sister Cathy Thomas, said.

The court case takes place against the backdrop of growing awareness and outrage in...