France 3 is broadcasting a documentary «Le pavillon des irresponsables». A film in which Christian Dornier, the farmer who killed 14 people in his small village in Doubs in July 1989, speaks for the first time. Director Alain Morvan, who was able to meet this patient from the unit for difficult patients in Sarreguemines, discusses the man, his daily life, and his desire for the future.
In Luxiol, no one has forgotten. This small town near Baume-les-Dames in Doubs experienced horror. On July 12, 1989, Christian Dornier, a 31-year-old single farmer, coldly shot 14 people, with one victim not surviving their injuries. 8 others were injured. Around 2:15 pm, Christian Dornier took a hunting rifle and first shot his mother, his sister, and a livestock inseminator present that day on the family farm, also shooting his father. Then, in his car, he randomly opened fire. His victims were children aged 5 and 10, elderly people, and other villagers. Under treatment for depression, Christian Dornier was in conflict with his family over the takeover of the family farm. Psychiatric experts diagnosed him with progressive schizophrenia. The justice system declared a lack of criminal responsibility for Dornier due to his lack of discernment in his actions due to his illness.
Luxiol aujourd’hui. Un village qui connut l’horreur d’une tuerie de masse en 1989.
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© Florence Petit – France Télévisions
For the filming of the documentary «Le pavillon des irresponsables», Alain Morvan was able to speak with Christian Dornier, who is now 66 years old, and the medical team responsible for his care. Interview.
Alain Morvan: Christian Dornier is a paranoid schizophrenic who, over time, has understood why he was first in prison and then in a psychiatric hospital. He knows what he did. However, did he have an awareness of what he was doing at the time? The justice system has clearly answered no. He is ill.
However, he has an understanding of his life, not only within the UMD (Unit for Difficult Patients) in Sarreguemines but also outside. He is well aware that killing 14 people has a very significant impact. With his psychiatrists, they have regularly revisited the facts. You can imagine how many times he has appeared before the medical review board, which decides whether people stay or leave the UMD, these reviews take place every six months. So every six months for 33 years, they revisit what he has done, how he is progressing. Is he getting better? Is his treatment appropriate? He has a significant knowledge of what he did. However, he still does not have an awareness of his actions. The distinctions here are quite subtle. But it is clear that he is well aware of what he did, but that does not mean he is responsible for his actions.
These are truly complex subjects.
Alain Morvan, réalisateur du documentaire «le pavillon des irresponsables».
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© France 3 Franche-Comté
Alain Morvan: We filmed sequences in his room because it was one of the ideas of the documentary to shed light on the world in which criminal irresponsibles live. Dornier is a typical example of the absolutely necessary framework for a major psychotic to survive daily life, that is, to have days extremely comparable to the previous ones. The days are very orderly. His room says a lot about his state of mind. He needs his world to be as orderly as possible. He cannot live in the uncertainty of tomorrow.
His room is absolutely incredible for that, and that’s why we wanted to film it. It’s not just to delve into Christian Dornier’s privacy, but it was to show that his shelves were incredibly well-organized. But that says a lot about Christian Dornier himself.
Alain Morvan, director of «The Pavilion of the Irresponsible»
La chambre de Christian Dornier au sein de l’unité médicale de Sarreguemines.
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© France Télévisions / Nomades Productions
Alain Morvan: This is a question that is clearly raised. It is clearly raised for Christian Dornier himself. He knows that he is inseparable from his past.
33 years later, he is still the Luxiol killer. That is extremely clear. However, he hopes despite this label that is stuck to him forever, to have a tiny semblance of a life outside the UMD of Sarreguemines.
Alain Morvan, director
Because it must be said clearly, this place is a bit like a high-security prison. Obviously, it is not at all a prison environment, it is a hospital care facility. But it is an extremely constrained place. All his movements are prepared and secured within the UMD. He has the possibility to go out a little bit, but under close supervision, once a week or once every two weeks to go shopping in town or to go to a restaurant, for example. But that is… his only margin of maneuver. So, he is trying today to imagine something other than life between these walls, between these high walls of the unit for difficult patients in Sarreguemines. He is not unhappy there, he is very well taken care of indeed. And one of the psychiatrists who knows him best says, he is probably at home at the UMD of Sarreguemines today. But at the same time, it remains a UMD. And it is not a place where one wants to spend their whole life. So he is trying to imagine something else.
At the same time, Christian Dornier has evolved over time. His dangerousness has decreased. That is extremely clear. The medical commission says so. However, is he capable of leaving the UMD of Sarreguemines? For now, the Commission says no. For now, there is no absolute certainty that he could be taken care of in a less secure environment. But the question arises. And the question arises on one last level. It is the evolution of his faculties. In other words, today, his dangerousness is mitigated because he has been followed for 33 years in the same unit and receives the medications that are suitable for him. However, gradually, there is also the idea, in the film and in the minds of psychiatrists, that his dangerousness will decrease further with old age. So, if all these factors are taken into account, perhaps one day he will have the possibility of no longer being in a UMD. For now, that is not the case, but tomorrow, it is a possibility.
Alain Morvan: Individuals cannot be reduced to what they have done. Especially since they were considered ill before being criminals. The same goes for Christian Dornier. Nothing more, nothing less, so to speak. The Christian Dornier of that time was considered irresponsible for his actions. He still is today.
Is there anything that justifies a sort of psychiatric life sentence for Christian Dornier? For me, absolutely nothing. But maybe everything is justified in the fact that he is somewhere, not in society. I mean, of course, there is his illness. He is not responsible for his actions. He is a severe paranoid schizophrenic. Therefore, he needs specialized care outside of society. But in reality, we could compare Dornier’s case to another very striking case in France, that of Romain Dupuy. Romain Dupuy is also a paranoid schizophrenic who, in 2004, returned to his hospital and killed two nurses. After two years, Romain Dupuy was perfectly stabilized in the UMD where he was being treated. However, he spent over 15 years in the same UMD, even though he was stabilized and no longer considered a real threat. But considering the crimes he had committed, it was impossible for him to return to a regular hospital. No regular psychiatric hospital wanted him. Dornier’s situation is exactly the same. Exactly the same.
Christian Dornier is currently stuck at the UMD in Sarreguemines, not due to his dangerousness, but due to his reputation.
Alain Morvan: To my knowledge, Christian Dornier received very few visits. What I know is that until his death, his father tried to reconnect with Christian Dornier, but Christian Dornier always refused this contact. This also illustrates Christian Dornier’s psychiatric state. He was always convinced that his father was part of a plot against him. So he could never accept to see him again. He thought that his father, like the rest of the family he wanted to eliminate, meant him harm. So he never accepted to receive a visit from his father. Never.
Interview conducted by Emmanuel Rivallain and Florence Petit.
### SEE OR REWATCH «Le pavillon des irresponsables»
Directed by Alain Morvan
A France 3 Grand Est / Nomades Productions coproduction
In replay on francetv. Alain Morvan, le réalisateur, a pu rencontrer ce patient de l’unité pour malades difficiles de Sarreguemines et discuter de l’homme, de son quotidien et de ses aspirations futures. Les sujets abordés sont vraiment complexes. Aujourd’hui, la dangerosité de Christian Dornier est atténuée car il est suivi depuis 33 ans dans la même unité et reçoit les médicaments adaptés. Il y a aussi l’idée que sa dangerosité diminuera avec l’âge, ce qui pourrait un jour lui permettre de ne plus être placé dans une UMD. Pour l’instant, cela n’est pas le cas, mais c’est une possibilité pour l’avenir.
Alain Morvan souligne qu’il ne faut pas résumer les individus à leurs actes, surtout s’ils ont été considérés comme malades avant d’être criminels. Christian Dornier a été jugé irresponsable de ses actes à l’époque et l’est toujours aujourd’hui. Pourquoi devrait-il être soumis à une perpétuité psychiatrique ? Pour Morvan, il n’y a aucune justification à cela. Cependant, sa maladie le rend inapte à vivre dans la société, nécessitant une prise en charge spécifique en dehors de celle-ci. Il compare la situation de Dornier à celle de Romain Dupuy, un schizophrène paranoïde qui a commis des actes similaires et a été stabilisé après deux ans mais est resté en UMD pendant plus de 15 ans sans être considéré comme une menace.
Christian Dornier est actuellement enfermé à l’UMD de Sarreguemines non pas en raison de sa dangerosité, mais de sa réputation. Il reçoit peu de visites, son père ayant tenté sans succès de renouer le contact avec lui. Dornier refuse tout contact, convaincu que son père fait partie d’un complot contre lui.
Le documentaire «Le pavillon des irresponsables», réalisé par Alain Morvan, aborde ces questions complexes. Il est disponible en replay sur FranceTV.
En conclusion, la situation de Christian Dornier soulève des interrogations sur la manière dont la société traite les individus souffrant de troubles mentaux. Il est important de trouver un équilibre entre la sécurité publique et le respect des droits des personnes malades. Le réalisateur Alain Morvan a eu l’opportunité de rencontrer ce patient de l’unité pour malades difficiles de Sarreguemines et de discuter de l’homme, de son quotidien et de son désir d’avenir. Ces sujets sont vraiment complexes.
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