The case of Jacqueline Sauvage had aroused intense mobilisation in France.

Jacqueline Sauvage, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder of her violent husband and pardoned by President François Hollande, died at 72.

Jacqueline Sauvage, who had become a symbolic figure in the fight to end violence against women, died, according to the information from La République du Centre. She was buried in confidentially. The family does not wish to communicate the reasons for her death.

Jacqueline Sauvage’s judicial history had turned into a societal affair and even a state affair. In September 2012, at 65, she shot her husband three times with a hunting rifle. The man had been beating her regularly for years. In 2014 and then in 2015 on appeal, Jacqueline Sauvage was sentenced to 10 years in prison for this murder. This is the minimum sentence for this crime that the Attorney General had called for.

Jacqueline Sauvage “has awakened consciences”

Jacqueline Sauvage was then jailed, leading to a major mobilisation all the way to the top of the state. In January 2016, the then President of the Republic, François Hollande, granted her a partial pardon allowing her to ask for an early release from prison, even though her sentence provided for a 5-year period of incompressible detention.

Twice, the justice system refused this request for early release. The judges considered then that Jacqueline Sauvage, in what they called an over-victimisation position, did not do a thorough enough analysis of her actions, and that she did not seek any other solution than to kill her husband. They eventually released her following the full pardon granted by François Hollande in December 2016.

“Jacqueline Sauvage has awakened consciences, she has left her mark on the society which could finally realise what its women could live in the family lock-up,” reacted Nathalie Tomasini, her lawyer. “She has helped the hopes of victims of domestic violence. Her resistance mobilised an entire country. (…) Jacqueline Sauvage has advanced the fight against violence against women.”

François Hollande, the former President of the Republic, reacted to this death with “emotion”.

Although the case was widely covered by the media, including the making of a TV film in which her role is played by Muriel Robin, Jacqueline Sauvage had been very low-key since her release. “She was extremely tired,” explains Tomasini. “She wanted to spend some time with her family, her daughters, her grandchildren. The media coverage made her suffer a lot. It was also very violent.”