Aurélie’s Stalking Ordeal

This flow traces how a brief encounter turns into sustained stalking, fear, and a refuge in shared testimony.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Chance Meeting

A Chance Meeting An Apparently Gentle Approach Aurélie meets a man at Metz Plage who seems articulate and attentive. She visits his studio, but his intensity and expectations make her uncomfortable, so she ends the encounter and later tells him she does not want a relationship. She tries to end matters kindly, avoiding humiliation and conflict. The same courtesy that expresses her care for others leaves room for him to treat her decision as negotiable.

A Car Becomes a Message

A Car Becomes a Message Nightly Intrusions The man finds Aurélie’s home and leaves declarations, marks, and scratches on her car. His repeated visits make her feel watched even when she cannot see him, turning ordinary nights into anticipations of danger. A brief prison sentence fails to stop him. He resumes the stalking with greater caution, and Aurélie’s attempts to catch him on camera make her life revolve around surveillance and fear.

Testimony at La Bulle

Testimony at La Bulle Fear Made Shareable At La Bulle, Aurélie tells the other residents how stalking has consumed her attention and damaged her sleep. She fears that her youth and future are being stolen by a man who refuses to accept her rejection. Bénédicte listens with compassion and recognizes the danger of treating persistence as romance. The group’s response gives Aurélie a rare audience that believes her account rather than questioning her refusal.

Several years before Bénédicte meets Aurélie at Sainte-Blandine

The two years before Aurélie’s admission

During Bénédicte’s July 2006 stay at Sainte-Blandine