Pippa, Toy Gungate, and the French Police

The bizarre tale of Pippa and the toy gun rumbles on.

The Royalist reported earlier today that one of the photographers chasing the car said that he knew the gun was a ‘toy’, and that the atmosphere was relaxed and that the photographers had been chatting to Pipa and her pals. Now ABC News is carrying a similar story, claiming that, “the photographer says he knew all along the gun was a fake and has been telling people he never felt scared.”

ABC adds that police have said that there is no investigation, because no one has filed a complaint, contrary o earlier reports that the photographer involved would be filing a complaint. By contrast, the Press Association has been reporting today that the police are studying the images online.

The Daily Beast’s calls to the Paris police for an official comment have not been answered.

Whilst the British tabloids have certainly hyped the story to the max, and the Sun may have had an inkling the gun was a plastic toy, it is also equally possible that the photographer who took the snaps originally exaggerated the circumstances in which the pictures were taken and has now had a change of heart.

Tthe fact remains that the picture will do Pipa’s image no good at all. Even brandishing a toy gun in Paris is a criminal offense, and deeply foolish in the light of the spate of recent shootings there.

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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