Rennes: A man has been charged after his partner, found bound, fell from the fourth floor.

A 28-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder and placed in pretrial detention after his partner fell from the fourth floor of a building in Rennes. The incident occurred on Wednesday in a working-class neighborhood of the city. Police discovered the 29-year-old victim, seriously injured, at the foot of the building, wearing only underwear and with a rope tied to her wrist. Suffering from multiple fractures, she was hospitalized, and doctors determined her total incapacity for work to be 50 days.

Heard at the hospital, the young woman claims to have been the victim of violence at the hands of her partner. According to her testimony, he, driven by jealousy, forced her to undress almost completely, prevented her from leaving the apartment, and tied her hand before pushing her as she tried to reach the balcony, causing her to fall approximately ten meters.

Two opposing versions of events

Arrested shortly after fleeing, the suspect denies any intention of killing his partner. During his police custody, he explained that he had only used an arm lock to retrieve her cell phone. He maintains that the victim fell on her own while trying to climb through the kitchen window to reach the neighboring balcony and that she slipped while he was trying to catch her.

The Rennes public prosecutor's office has nevertheless retained the charge of attempted homicide, based on the initial findings of the investigation and the victim's statements. The investigation is continuing in order to establish precisely how the events unfolded. According to the latest data from the Interministerial Mission for the Protection of Women (Miprof), 107 women were killed by their partner or ex-partner in France in 2024, compared to 96 the previous year.