The Federation of Hunters of the Orne, which accuses the filmmaker Luc Besson of allowing deer to proliferate on his Norman property thus causing damage to crops, was once again dismissed by the courts of its claim for compensation.
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In a judgment delivered Thursday, October 28, of which AFP has obtained a copy, the Caen Court of Appeal considers that the hunters do not demonstrate
"that the proliferation of deer on the estate belonging to Mr. Besson is the cause of the damage For
which they seek redress. It condemns the Departmental Federation of Hunters of the Orne to pay Luc Besson the sum of 2,500 euros in legal costs.
"Luc Besson is of course very happy with this decision which objectively finds the truth of the facts"
, commented Jean-Marc Descoubès, lawyer of Luc Besson in a message to AFP.
"The court examined all the details of the case and demonstrated that Luc Besson did not commit any fault by not hunting on his property."
The Departmental Federation of Hunters of the Orne, which compensated farmers for damage to their crops, claimed 105,621 euros from the director of Nikita, owner of 160 hectares including 84 hectares of wood in the Trinity of Laitiers (Orne). The hunters accuse the filmmaker of being responsible for the damage caused to ten farmers between 2014 and 2019, due to his refusal to hunt or to have game hunted on his property, in particular deer. For the Caen Court of Appeal, the findings of bailiffs presented by the hunters do not demonstrate
"that the damage observed comes from deer present in too large a quantity on Mr. Besson's plot"
.
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"Some affected plots are very far from the Besson domain"
, notes the court, even though the Luc Besson domain is bordered by two forests, in particular the Saint-Evroult forest with an area
"of more than 600,000 hectares"
.
Me Descoubès said he was
"very happy"
for Luc Besson and
"for the large animals of the forest"
.
"The forest is theirs before it belongs to men (...) Long live the wild life!"
, launched the lawyer.
In December 2019, the Argentan district court had already ruled in favor of Luc Besson against the hunters.