RENNES, France: French author Gilles Perrault has passed away, his family announced on Thursday.
His book “Le Pull-Over Rouge” is credited with initiating a debate on the death penalty in France. He was 92.
A family source who spoke to AFP said, “I can confirm that he died at 92 last night, August 3, from cardiac arrest.” Born Jacques Peyroles, and practiced law for several years before switching to journalism and eventually penning novels under the pen name Gilles Perrault.
He wrote “Le Pull-Over Rouge” (The Red Sweater) in 1978, casting doubt on Christian Ranucci’s conviction for the kidnapping and murder of an eight-year-old child in 1974. Ranucci had been executed by beheading two years before. One million copies of the book were sold, which provoked a lively discussion regarding the death penalty, which France subsequently abolished in 1981.
In connection with the case, Perrault was twice found guilty of defaming the police—once for remarks he made in an interview and again for statements he made in another book. He tried unsuccessfully for years to reactivate Ranucci’s case. “It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon,” he told AFP in 2006, hoping for a later re-examination.
In 1990, he published “Notre Ami Le Roi” (Our Friend the King), another highly regarded book that critically examined Hassan II of Morocco’s 30-year rule. The works of Gilles Perrault are landmarks for my generation, according to Reporters Without Borders president Pierre Haski. —AFP/APP
