On October 7, 2014, Denis Mannechez shot Virginie Mannechez twice before attempting to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head. Their son Quentin witnessed the scene. But this tragedy goes beyond the horror of a femicide: Virginie is Denis Mannechez’s daughter. Through this news story, Michèle Pedinielli questions what is most unacceptable: incest, or “the worst of crimes” within a family, as well as the mechanisms of domination inflicted by an abusive and violent father figure.
“In the Mannechez family, on the other hand, things are extremely clear: Virginie is the favorite. She is the eldest, she is blonde with blue eyes. She is the perfect child who also corresponds to the ideas of Nazi eugenics that so fascinate Denis, who is passionate about theories on the Aryan race. She is well-behaved and cheerful, gets good grades in school, has her hair done nicely, and is bought pretty clothes. Denis and Laurence call her ‘Duchess’. Betty, two years her junior, looks up to her big sister with adoration; she is her sunshine.
