EUROPE 1 (France)
PARIS – Sport can been a good way to escape the grind of prison life. Last week, that was quite literally the case for one inmate in France who used a basketball game to make his getaway.
But what made last Friday's daring escape all the more galling for authorities was that the newly-appointed French justice minister, Christiane Taubira, was in attendance – cheering from the stands -- as the convict snuck away during a basketball game organized by prison wardens at Bercy sports arena in Paris.
The getaway was first reported by the French radio station Europe 1 and has earned the brand new minister some serious flack. “This is how Christiane Taubira fights against overcrowded prisons,” lawyer-blogger Maître Eolas joked on Twitter.
A full manhunt has been launched, but so far police have had no luck tracking down the fugitive, a 22-year-old man from Georgia convicted of theft and receiving stolen goods. According to Europe 1, the inmate “was scheduled to be freed next year, but apparently didn’t want to wait any longer.”
Read the full story in French
