Cahors: Father and Son Sentenced for Assault on Municipal Agent

A father and son have been sentenced in Cahors, France, following an assault on a municipal agent in May 2025. The incident, which left the agent with facial injuries, deeply shocked the local community. The father received a four-month suspended prison sentence, while the son was fined 120 days at five euros per day.

The Incident

On May 26, 2025, a municipal agent from Grand Cahors was investigating the development of the washhouse island, scheduled for inauguration on May 28th. Upon arriving at the scene on Rue Nationale, the agent encountered an altercation involving two individuals. After attempting to intervene and calling for police assistance (17), the agent was then confronted by a second individual in a wheelchair.

According to the agent’s testimony, the individual in the wheelchair became verbally abusive and then physically aggressive. The agent, in a reflexive action, attempted to create distance, resulting in the individual falling from the wheelchair. The father and brother then joined the assault, inflicting injuries to the agent’s face.

Conflicting Accounts and Injuries

The municipal agent described the assault as feeling “like hitting a bag of nuts,” sustaining injuries including a head lesion, a hematoma under the left eye, a lip wound requiring stitches, and a facial wound. The father disputed the account, claiming he only pushed the agent, causing him to fall against a wall.

The prosecutor questioned the father’s account, pointing to the severity of the agent’s injuries. The agent presented with a “completely bloody face,” with blood dripping on the ground. Further medical examination revealed a crack in the father’s nose, an injury he claimed occurred during the fall.

Court Ruling and Defense Arguments

The prosecutor requested a six-month suspended prison sentence for the father and a 120-day fine for the son. The defense lawyer, Me Geffroy, argued for reclassification of the charges, removing the “in meeting” circumstance, and suggested the injuries were self-inflicted during the fall. She also questioned why the son was fined while the father was not.

The court ultimately convicted both the father and son. The father received a four-month suspended prison sentence and was ordered to provide compensation to the victim. The son was fined 120 days at five euros per day. The court also approved a request for further medical expertise and ordered a joint payment of 2,000 euros as provisional compensation for the victim, with the final amount to be determined in a civil hearing.