French Magnetizer Convinces a Client Neighbor Is a Witch
SAINT-CONNEC, France -- One summer day, a farmer named Fernand Gallerne stormed over to the house of his neighbor, Valérie Morice, and accused her of casting an evil spell on his farm.
As word of the allegation spread through tiny Saint-Connec, Mrs. Morice started getting strange looks from fellow villagers. Soon, her children were coming home crying because friends were calling their mother a witch.
This scene, seemingly right out of the 17th century, took place in July in this picturesque part of Brittany, a four-hour drive from Paris. The man who sparked the modern-day witch hunt: Michel Le Mer, a magnetiseur, who claims to heal with the magnetic power of his hands.
The trouble began when Mr. Gallerne consulted Mr. Le Mer about Mrs. Gallerne, who was deeply depressed. Mr. Le Mer visited the Gallerne farm and came to a grim conclusion: The place had been cursed by their neighbor, Mrs. Morice, thus causing Mrs. Gallerne's illness. He charged $204 to lift the spell. Then all hell broke loose.
Fingered as an evildoer and suddenly shunned around the village, Mrs. Morice lodged a complaint with police alleging defamation. As Mr. Gallerne was being questioned by the gendarmes on July 22, his face went blank and he started sweating profusely, according to a police report of the interrogation.
Asked what was wrong, Mr. Gallerne replied that Mrs. Morice was "on my back...she's gone to work on me," the police report says. The burly farmer then fainted and was rushed to a hospital. By last month, the affair had landed in court in a trial that gripped the community.
France, a nominally Catholic nation where religious feeling has waned and science reigns supreme, isn't exactly known as a land of superstition. But magnetizers, a type of Gallic healer, remain common in rural parts of the country.
They are especially prevalent in Brittany, a tradition-bound region with a rich lore that boasts its own language and an independence movement. One ancient local legend has it that Brittany is home to one of the gates of hell. Dominique Camus, a sociologist who has written seven books on witchcraft in the region, says he has come across pierced animal hearts hidden under doormats in the course of his research. "The magical permeates Brittany," he says.
The theory of "animal magnetism" was developed by German doctor Franz Anton Mesmer in the late 1700s. Dr. Mesmer posited that the human body radiates an energy akin to that of a magnet and that illnesses are caused by disruptions in that energy. With the magnetic properties of his own hands, he claimed to be able to restore the energy flow.
A sign of a hand in front of the magnetizer's house
After Dr. Mesmer moved to Paris in 1778, the French embraced his theory and he was swamped with patients. But a commission of scientists appointed by King Louis XVI in 1784 branded him a fraud. The commissioners, who included American ambassador to France Benjamin Franklin, concluded that Dr. Mesmer merely had a strong power of persuasion over his patients. Today, his legacy survives in the verb "to mesmerize."
Magnetism nevertheless continued to attract a following in France. Some estimates put the number of French magnetizers today at up to 30,000. They even have their own union, Le Syndicat National des Magnetiseurs. "Fewer and fewer people believe in the Church, but more and more believe in other spiritualities," says Jean-Jacques Rosankis, the union's vice president.
Mr. Le Mer, the magnetizer who convinced Mr. Gallerne that his neighbor was a witch, lives in an old stone house a few miles from Saint-Connec. A sign in front advertises his craft: a hand with its fingers spread. A stocky, balding man with bushy eyebrows and thick glasses, Mr. Le Mer slammed the door on a reporter who tried to ask questions as a patient was entering.
After getting wind of Mrs. Morice's complaint, the public prosecutor for the area encompassing Saint-Connec decided to combine her defamation case with another one pending against Mr. Le Mer for fraud. That one stemmed from an earlier police investigation into his magnetizing activities.
The two cases were tried on Nov. 18 in the district court of Saint-Brieuc, a coastal town 25 miles north of Saint-Connec. Claiming he was sick, Mr. Le Mer didn't show up in court but was represented by his lawyer, Géraldine Blanchevoy.
During the trial, it emerged that Mr. Le Mer claims to be no ordinary man. He tells his patients that he has the power to beat back Satan and that he can cure cancer, sterility and mad-cow disease, according to a report of the police's probe read aloud by the judge.
He also claims credit for former French interior minister Jean-Pierre Chevènement's recovery from a 10-day coma in 1998, and for enabling pop singer Céline Dion to give birth to a baby boy in 2001 after years of trying unsuccessfully to have children, according to the police report.
Asked whether Mr. Chevènement had ever been a patient of Mr. Le Mer's, his aide Jean-Yves Autexier said: "no, of course not....Besides, this is all very much the opposite of what he believes in. Jean-Pierre Chevènement is a very rational man."
Magnetism is a lucrative trade: Mr. Le Mer charges $201 to lift spells from farms, $163 to exorcise businesses and $123 for houses. In one of his treatments, he walks around patients' properties with a wet cloth wrapped around his head to chase away evil spirits. Each lap costs an extra $2. Mr. Le Mer earns about $74,000 a year and had a thousand patient visits in the first half of 2001 alone, according to the police report.
Patrick Elghosi, Mrs. Morice's lawyer, was the first to speak after the judge opened the trial. "The idea that there would be a case of witchcraft in Brittany in the 21st century is something laughable and ridiculous," he said. "Must we remind people that we are in the country of Descartes and that this is nothing but a swindle?"
Bastien Diacono , Saint-Brieuc's deputy public prosecutor, called Mr. Le Mer a dangerous charlatan and likened him to Cagliostro, an 18th-century Italian alchemist who conned the royal courts of Europe into believing he had magical powers. "He might as well put a plaque on his door that reads: 'Michel Le Mer, peddler of illusions,' " Mr. Diacono fumed.
Defending her client, Mrs. Blanchevoy quoted a line uttered by Hamlet, after the tragic hero meets his father's ghost: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Mr. Le Mer, she said, "deeply believes in what he does and in his mission.... He tries to make people feel better."
In the end, Mr. Le Mer couldn't work his magic on the judge. He was convicted of defrauding his patients and drew a six-month suspended prison sentence plus a $5,360 fine.
But nothing will shake Mr. Gallerne's belief that Mr. Le Mer cured his wife, who has recovered from her depression. The mayor of Saint-Connec tried to persuade the farmer to become a plaintiff in the case against the magnetizer, but he refused. Holding a pitchfork in his barn the day after the judgment, he said the evil spirits that once encircled his farm had been chased away and that harmony had returned.
Mrs. Morice feels vindicated by the verdict, but she and the Gallernes are no longer on speaking terms. Of Mr. Gallerne, she said, rolling her eyes: "Someday, someone will make him understand that it's a hoax."
As for Mr. Le Mer, his lawyer, Mrs. Blanchevoy, says he's not feeling well. "He's consulting another magnetizer," she said.
法国小镇尤见“磁法师”身影
夏季的一天，一个叫费尔南德?高伦(Fernand Gallerne)的农民怒气冲冲地找到邻居瓦莱丽?莫里斯(Valerie Morice)的家中，指责她对他的农场施了恶咒。
这个消息随即传遍了整个小小的Saint-Connec村，莫里斯太太开始发现村民们都用奇怪的眼神打量她。没过多久，她的孩子们回家时总是哭哭啼啼的，因为玩伴们说他们的母亲是女巫。
这种在17世纪似乎很平常的事竟然发生在今年7月、在离巴黎只有4个小时车程的不列塔尼一个风景如画的村庄里。是谁认定莫里斯是女巫？这要谈到一个声称能用双手的“磁力”帮助别人恢复健康的“磁法师”(magnetiseur)－－米歇尔?勒梅尔(Michel Le Mer)。
故事的起因这样的－－有一天，高伦向勒梅尔询问为何他的太太情绪非常低落。勒梅尔到高伦的农场里查看了一番，得出一个骇人听闻的结论：农场被邻居莫里斯太太施了诅咒，导致高伦太太患病。勒梅尔说可以解除咒语，费用是204美元。自此，是非铺天盖地的散播开来了。
村民们开始把莫里斯太太指称为恶人，并且远远的躲开她。莫里斯太太不堪折磨，向警方提出控诉，指控高伦诽谤。警察7月22日审问了高伦，据审问笔录描述，当时高伦面如土色、直冒冷汗。
根据审问笔录，当警察问是怎么回事时，高伦回答说莫里斯太太“就在背后，她要整我”。接著，这个身材魁梧的大汉居然晕了过去，立刻被送往医院。最近，这场是非终于被送上法庭，整个社区都密切关注这件事的进展。
法国名义上是天主教国家，但民众的宗教情感日渐淡薄，科学观念占据主流，在外界看来绝非一个迷信的国度。不过“磁法师”--高卢治病术士的一种--在乡村地区仍很多见。
“磁法师”在不列塔尼尤为盛行。不列塔尼是个传统观念浓厚的地区，拥有自己的语言和独特的生活方式。当地有个古老的传说称，不列塔尼是地狱其中一个门的所在地。社会学家多明尼克?加缪(Dominique Camus)曾以这个地区的巫术为主题写了7本书，他说，他本人就曾经在研究考察的途中发现在一些居民门口的擦鞋垫下藏著一些被刺穿的动物心脏。“巫术渗透到不列塔尼的每个角落，”他说。
“动物磁场论”是在17世纪晚期由德国医生弗朗兹?安东?梅斯莫(Franz Anton Mesmer)发展起来的。梅斯莫提出，人类的身体能散发出一种类似磁场一样的能量，如果能量中断，就会引起疾病。梅斯莫声称可以用自己双手上的磁力恢复中断的能量流。
梅斯莫1778年移居巴黎后，他的理论大受法国人的欢迎，大量病人登门求医。但1784年，国王路易十六指派的一个科学家委员会认定他为诈骗。包括当时美国驻法大使本杰明?弗兰克林(Benjamin Franklin )在内的委员会成员断定梅斯莫无非善于说服病人而已。直到今天，我们仍然可以从单词“mesmerize”（意为“催眠，迷惑”）中找到梅斯莫的一些影子。
然而，磁场论继续在法国吸引了众多的追随者。有估计称，如今法国磁法师的人数高达3万。他们甚至有自己的社团--全国磁法师联合会(Le Syndicat National des Magnetiseurs)。“越来越少的人信仰宗教，却有越来越多的人开始信仰别的东西，”联合会副主席让-雅克?罗桑奇斯(Jean-Jacques Rosankis)说。
说服高伦相信邻居是女巫的勒梅尔住在Saint-Connec几英里外的一座老石头房子里。门前挂著一个可以说是广告的牌子：上面是一个五指张开的手掌。勒梅尔身材矮壮，头发渐秃，眉毛浓密，戴著一幅厚厚的眼镜。当记者趁一位病人走进屋试图问他几个问题时，他毫不客气把门砰地一下关上了。
负责Saint-Connec地区的检察官得知莫里斯太太的控诉消息后，决定把这个诽谤案连同另一件指控勒梅尔欺诈的未决案件一同处理。另外这起案件源自警方早些时候对勒梅尔活动的调查。
两起案件一起于11月18日在Saint-Connec以北25英里的海边小镇Saint-Brieu的地区法庭上开审。勒梅尔托病没有露面，由其律师娇拉汀?布兰切瓦(Geraldine Blanchevoy)代表出庭。
根据庭审材料，勒梅尔称自己并不是一般人。法官当庭念了一份警方的探查报告，报告说，勒梅尔告诉病人称他有击退魔鬼撒旦的力量，并能医治癌症、不育和疯牛病。
据这份警方报告称，勒梅尔还声称1998年曾使前法国内政部长让－皮埃尔?舍维内芒(Jean-Pierre Chevenement)从10天的昏迷中苏醒过来；流行乐星席琳?迪翁(Celine Dion) 多年一直没能怀孕，但在他的治疗下，在2001年顺利生下一个男孩。
当被问及舍维内芒是否曾经是勒梅尔的病人时，舍维内芒的助手让－伊夫?奥特希尔(Jean-Yves Autexier)回答说：“当然不是，找巫师治病这种做法完全与他的信仰相悖，让－皮埃尔?舍维内芒是个非常理智的人。”
“磁力服务”可是个财源滚滚的营生：勒梅尔给农场解除咒语每次收201美元，给生意人驱邪每次收163美元，给家庭驱邪收123美元。在一次治疗中，他在头上缠一块湿布，绕病人的房产踱步，说是把邪恶的鬼怪赶走。每走一圈另外收2美元。根据警方报告，勒梅尔每年大约挣7.4万美元，单是2001年上半年就有1,000个病人来访。
法官开审后，莫里斯太太的律师派翠克?埃尔戈西(Patrick Elghosi)第一个发言。“在21世纪的不列塔尼居然还有巫术这种行当真是荒唐可笑，”他说，“难道我们还要提醒人们这里是笛卡儿的故乡、这个案件是个彻头彻尾的骗局吗？”
Saint-Brieuc的副检察官巴斯琴?迪亚克诺(Bastien Diacono)认为勒梅尔是个危险的江湖骗子，把他比作现代的卡里欧斯特罗(Cagliostro)--后者是18世纪曾骗得欧洲皇室相信他有魔力的义大利炼金术士。“他不如直接在门上挂一块牌子，上面写道“米歇尔?勒梅尔--假象贩卖者，” 迪亚克诺义愤填膺地说道。
勒梅尔的律师布兰切瓦在为自己的当事人辩护时引用了悲剧英雄哈姆雷特遇到父亲的鬼魂后说的一句话：“霍拉旭，天地之间有许多事情是你们的哲学里所没有梦想到的。”她说，勒梅尔深信“自己的所作所为及自己的使命”，他努力使人们感觉更好些。
勒梅尔的魔力对法官没有起到作用。法庭最后裁定勒梅尔欺骗病人，判处其入狱6个月，缓期执行，罚款5360美元。
尽管如此，高伦还是相信是勒梅尔治愈了他的妻子，她已经从抑郁中恢复了。Saint-Connec的市长试图说服他成为勒梅尔案件的原告，遭到拒绝。审判过后的第二天，高伦一边用草耙在谷仓里干活，一边说，过去缠绕著农场的鬼怪已经被赶走了，和谐又回到了他的生活当中。
莫里斯感觉法庭的裁决还了她一个清白，但她和高伦一家连招呼也不打了。谈到高伦，她翻了个白眼说：“总有一天有人会让他明白被人愚弄了。”
至于勒梅尔，他的律师布兰切瓦称其身体不适。“他在接受另一位磁法师的治疗。”她说。
