Mountain biker shot dead: verdict against recreational hunter

On 13 October 2018, shortly before 6 pm, Marc Sutton was out mountain biking above Montriond in Haute-Savoie, a few kilometres from the Swiss border. The 34-year-old Briton lived nearby in Les Gets, where he ran a restaurant. He was wearing a brightly coloured helmet, and his bike was clearly visible. A 22-year-old recreational hunter fired at him from a distance of around 40 metres. The bullet tore through his spine and lung, and Marc Sutton died instantly. The shooter had mistaken him for a wild boar.

WBW reported on the case at the time: France: Cyclist shot dead by recreational hunter. Two years later, on 1 December 2020, the criminal court in Thonon-les-Bains convicted the shooter and four other defendants. The trial at the time showed that the fatal shot was only the first part of the problem.

The verdict against the shooter

The shooter, by then 24 years old, was charged with involuntary manslaughter during a driven hunt, in clear and conscious breach of safety obligations. The court sentenced him to four years' imprisonment, of which three years were suspended and one year was to be served. He was also banned from hunting for ten years and from owning firearms for five years.

After the shot: hunting log altered, warning sign put up

Alongside the shooter, three other recreational hunters and the partner of one of these men were convicted. After the fatal shot, entries in the hunting logbook had been altered, the names of those involved removed, and a warning sign that had previously been missing put up. The three recreational hunters received suspended prison sentences of between twelve and 18 months, as well as hunting and weapons bans. The partner, who had altered the hunting logbook on instruction, received six months suspended.

Anyone who tampers with documents and puts up warning signs after the event following a fatal shot shows that self-regulation has failed. The first reflex was to protect themselves, not to clarify what had happened.

No clear target, no safe backstop

Montriond shows what happens when neither the target nor the bullet's safe trajectory has been established before the shot. The trial was concerned not only with the fact that the target had not been identified, but also with the lack of a safe backstop and the proximity to residential buildings. Safety rules protect no one if they are disregarded at the decisive moment.

That other mountain bikers are also being caught in the line of fire is shown by the case near Chaumont. As early as 2021, WBW reported on a similar incident: Recreational hunter shoots at mountain biker.

France: safety plan without a hunting-free day

On 9 January 2023, the French government presented a safety plan comprising 14 measures. Among other things, the plan provided for mandatory training for the leaders of driven hunts, a penal provision against hunting under excessive influence of alcohol or drugs, uniform warning signs for driven hunts, and a government app showing hunting locations and times. A hunting-free day each week, which people who use the countryside have been demanding for years, was not included.

The risk affects hunters and bystanders alike, though to differing degrees. For the 2024/2025 season, the Office français de la biodiversité (OFB) recorded 100 hunting accidents involving personal injury and eleven deaths, all among hunters. Sixteen non-hunters were injured, three of them seriously. In the 2025/2026 season, the figure fell to 92 accidents and four deaths, again exclusively hunters. Ten non-hunters were injured, four of them seriously. Fewer deaths do not mean that people outside recreational hunting are safe from gunfire.

Fatal hunting accidents are no isolated phenomenon outside France either. On 1 October 2026, a man died during a recreational hunt in Sweden: Arjeplog: Norwegian Dies During Recreational Hunt, Hunting Companion Under Suspicion.

Commentary: responsibility lies with the person holding the weapon

Marc Sutton was out on his mountain bike. Responsibility for the fatal shot lay with the armed recreational hunter. It cannot be shifted onto the person in front of the gun barrel.

Montriond is therefore more than a tragic accident. A man died because a leisure pursuit involving live weapons took place where other people also move about. Afterwards, those involved tried to cover their tracks. The lesson applies to Switzerland too: anyone who permits driven hunts near paths, roads and settlements accepts that people may end up in the line of fire. The IG Wild beim Wild documents such cases in the section Crime & hunting.