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Frenchman unhurt in 100 km/h suicide leap

Sophie Inge
Sophie Inge - [email protected]
Frenchman unhurt in 100 km/h suicide leap
Speeding car photo: Shutterstock"

A suicidal man who jumped out of his moving car at 100km/h in the middle of a motorway in south-east France has miraculously survived with minor injuries, French media reported on Monday.

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The 28-year-old Parisian, who was travelling through the Alpes-Maritimes department of south-east France for work, leapt from his vehicle as he hurtled down the A8 motorway at 100km/h. 

“Suddenly, as he was driving in the middle lane, the desperate man opened his door and was thrown onto the left-hand lane,” a spokesperson for the department’s Road Safety Squadron was quoted as saying by Europe 1 radio.

Luckily, a motorist driving in the left-hand caught managed to dodge the man just in time, before stopped and helping the man out of harm's way.

Meanwhile, the man’s car crashed into another vehicle without injuring its driver.

The suicidal man, who was still conscious, was then taken to hospital where he was treated for cuts to his legs and bruises.

The man’s father confirmed to police that his son had wanted to commit suicide.

Every year around 220,000 people in France attempt to take their own life and 10,000 of those die as a result. These alarming statistics mean that the number of suicides in France is more than double that of the UK and Spain

Compiled by the statistics agencies INSEE and Eurostat, the figures showed that every day in France an average of 21 men and eight women take their own lives and around 700 attempt it. 

Jean-Claude Delgenes, the director of Technologia, a company which works with highlighting safety concerns for workers told The Local previously, France has been left lagging behind its European neighbours when it comes to trying to prevent suicide.

“For a lot of issues, whether its suicide, asbestos or cancer, France was left behind when it came to creating programmes and policies geared towards prevention," he said. “In the UK the first plan to help prevent suicide was laid out in 1950, in France it was in the year 2000."  

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