City wants Batman to save it from crime
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Marseille (France) launches petition for Batman to save it from crime
RESIDENTS of France's second-largest city have called on Batman for help after a recent surge in violent crime.
The mock online petition and Facebook page, entitled Will it take Batman to save Marseille?, comes after a pensioner was shot dead last week trying to stop a robbery, according to reports
Jacques Blondel, 61, knocked the robbers over with his car and confronted them with a baseball bat and pepper spray after they held up a tobacconist.
He tried to reason with them and grabbed for their gun but was shot in the thigh and stomach.
Marseille has also seen 13 gang-related killings this year, many thought to be linked to the drugs trade.
Criminal gangs are increasingly using heavy duty weapons such as AK-47 assault rifles, thought to arrive in the city through its Mediterranean Sea port.
The government has said it is sending in 130 extra riot police - who will be patrolling streets by the end of
August - as well as 24 more detectives.
But many residents are critical and say politicians are not doing enough.
"Today finished the sound bites and rhetoric ... The city needs action!" says the petition.
"Or are we preparing to always call more police and army ... then Batman!"
Ben Affleck was not available for comment.
Members of the French riot police 29th Republican Security Company (CRS 29) check their patrol routes in central Marseille. The extra police have been sent in to fight rampant street crime but what it needs is Batman, say residentsPétition : Faudra-t-il un Batman pour Marseille ?
