The courtyard of the school in Laruscade (Gironde) adjoining the town hall – Google Street View
The affair is causing a stir in recent days, in this small town of less than 3,000 inhabitants, in the north of the Gironde. Excited by the noise of children playing ball in the courtyard of the primary school, during the lunch break, the mayor of the town Jean-Paul Labeyrie,
would have pulled out a knife last Monday, in front of children.
The town hall being adjacent to the school, the mayor would have burst into the schoolyard, threatening to disembowel the balloon in front of the children, reports France Bleu Gironde. Although no children were directly threatened, some were said to have been traumatized by the scene, and five parents of the students filed a complaint.
After being auditioned by the gendarmes, the elected official finally spoke on Friday, ensuring not to have taken out a knife but a bottle opener. “I had just had a beer at the town hall, he tells France Bleu, I had a bottle opener in my pocket and I gestured from afar to pretend to deflate [le ballon]. The city councilor says he is “surprised by the magnitude” of this affair, assuring that he has not seen traumatized children. The open investigation should provide clarification fairly quickly.