French woman freed in Mexico heads to hero welcome in Paris

A Frenchwoman freed from Mexican jail after a court said police violated her rights by staging her arrest for kidnapping on national television was on her way home on Thursday to a hero’s welcome in Paris.

Florence Cassez took a flight from Mexico City with her father Bernard, hours after the Supreme Court voted for her immediate release after seven years in prison in a case that strained Franco-Mexican ties.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French ex-president who battled to have her freed, and France’s current foreign minister were among the many dignitaries joining her mother for her arrival later on Thursday at Charles de Gaulle airport.

Dozens of reporters and camera crews were also in place to record the arrival of the 38-year-old whose release was hailed by President Francois Hollande, who said it marked “the end of a particularly painful period”.

The case of Cassez, who had faced 60 years in jail, has put a spotlight on Mexico’s troubled justice system, where most crimes go unsolved and authorities are often accused of corruption and abuse.

But her release angered crime victim rights activists. As Cassez was driven away from prison, wearing a flak jacket, some people shouted “Kidnapper! Murderer!”