Accidental killing of hiker fuels bitter debate over hunting in France

The 25-year-old woman was walking with a friend along a marked trail near Aurillac in the heavily forested Cantal region when she was hit by a stray bullet on Saturday. She died instantly.

The 17-year-old girl who pulled the trigger was part of an organised hunt in the forest and had received her hunting licence when she was 16. She was treated in hospital for shock and was still being questioned by police on Monday morning. Tests revealed no trace of drugs or alcohol in her body.

The centrist Emmanuel Macron adopted a pro-hunting stance at the start of his presidency, seen as a way of courting the rural vote.

France has in recent months banned certain highly criticised hunting techniques of birds, such as hunting with nets or bird cages or glue-trap hunting, in line with a 2009 EU directive.