Cannes Gun Scare: Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison

The scene of panic at 'Le Grand Journal' in Cannes, moments after a man shot blank shots into the crowd.

PARIS – The man who caused a panic when he fired blanks into the crowd gathered to see actors Christoph Waltz and Daniel Auteuil at a live beachside taping of French chat show Le Grand Journal during the Cannes Film Festival in May has been sentenced to eighteen months in prison.

Now identified as 43-year-old Stephane Cros from nearby Nice, the man was armed with a replica Smith and Wesson gun and a fake grenade. He said during the hearing that he had hoped to take hostages.

VIDEO: Cannes Panic: Christoph Waltz Rushed Offstage; Man With Suspicious Device Apprehended

Television channel Canal Plus and production company KM had each asked for €30,000 in damages but were denied compensation.

Newspaper Le Figaro reported that during the trial, Cros handed over handwritten papers that were read by a magistrate. In them he declared that he had hoped to get onto the set and take hostages, quoted philosophers Benedict de Spinoza, Martin Heidegger and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, railed against international agribusiness giant Monsanto and the mismanagement of local government. The defense argued that he is depressed and lonely, having been cut off from his children for unstated reasons.

PHOTOS: 50 Never-Before-Seen Portraits From Cannes

Prosecutor Gwenaelle Ledoigt argued that this was akin to an act of terror, stating that although the act was carried out with a replica gun and dummy grenade, causing panic and inciting fear was the crime. “Using terror and violence to impose his political views, this is the very definition of terrorism,” she said. “I'm not saying this is an act of terrorism, but intellectually the process is the same, only the degree of violence is different."

No one was injured during the incident, however initial reports that Cros had fired shots into the crowd made it the most shocking of a particularly eventful Cannes. Aside from the panic at Le Grand Journal, this festival saw two high-profile jewelry heists, multiple robberies and a Psy imposter taking advantage of local restaurants and club owners, as well as fooling festival-goers.

 

Silvio Berlusconi Sentenced to 7 Years in Jail, Lifetime Politics Ban

ROME -- Three-time Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to seven years in jail with a lifetime ban from politics for having paid for sex with an underage woman and abusing his power in trying to cover it up.

The billionaire media tycoon is sure to appeal the verdict. But the case is significant as the harshest verdict yet for the 76-year-old, who has been hounded by legal woes since he first entered politics nearly 20 years ago.

The conviction is Berlusconi's third in nine months.

STORY: Berlusconi 'Humane' to Have Helped Erotic Dancer, Lawyers Say

Last October, Berlusconi was sentenced to four years behind bars on charges of tax evasion in connection with the Mediaset television and cinema giant he controls. And in December another judge sentenced him to a year in jail in a wiretap case connected to the Milan daily Il Giornale, which is run by his younger brother, Paolo Berlusconi. Both cases are already under appeal.

In this case, Berlusconi was charged with paying an underage girl, erotic dancer Karima el-Mahroug -- best known by her stage name "Ruby the Heartstealer" -- for sex and then lying to police to get her let off on minor shoplifting charges. Though the underage sex charges have attracted the most attention, the abuse of power allegations were the most serious.

Prosecutors claim they could prove Berlusconi paid el-Mahroug at least €2,000 ($2,560) each time the two met and that he also gave her a cash gift of up to €5 million ($6.4 million).

STORY: Prosecutors Request Six Years in Jail, Ban From Politics in Silvio Berlusconi Sex Trial

Surprisingly, el-Mahroug was never called on to testify in the trial, though both she and Berlusconi denied having had sexual relations and that Berlusconi made a large cash gift. At one point, Berlusconi attorney Niccolo Ghedini argued that the smaller gifts to el-Mahroug showed Berlusconi was "humane" toward a young girl with financial difficulties.

Berlusconi's lawyers also dismissed the abuse of power accusations -- Berlusconi was reported to have claimed that the Morocco-born el-Mahroug was the niece of then-Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak -- by saying he thought the claims he made at the time were true.

El-Mahroug, along with former newsman Emilio Fede, ex-talent agent Lele Mora and Nicole Minetti a former centerfold girl and parliamentarian.

The Italian press reported the news aggressively, breaking into scheduled television programs and running banner headlines on news sites. Reaction ran along political lines, with Il Giornale calling it a "Shameful Sentence," but the left-leaning La Repubblica declaring, "Justice, Finally."

Despite the ongoing legal woes, Berlusconi has been splitting time between his defense, his role as a key supporter of the new Italian government of Enrico Letta (Letta is himself the nephew of key Berlusconi lieutenant Gianni Letta), and his stewardship of Mediaset. Berlusconi has left the day-to-day operations of Mediaset in the hands of his 44-year-old son, Pier Silvio Berlusconi, and the company has thrived with that setup. Shares closed Monday, before the verdict, at €2.43 ($3.13), down slightly on the day but more than double their all-time low of €1.16 ($1.50) from December.