Overview
- Charles Guinel, 64, was found dead on rocks below a cliff near Petrovac at the end of May after being last seen in his hotel, and the circumstances of his death remain unclear.
- The prosecutor in Rennes escalated the case by opening an information judiciaire on Monday, July 20, and has formally seized an examining magistrate to lead the investigation.
- Authorities have not ruled out accident, suicide, third‑party intervention, or homicide, and the judge can now order new searches, forensic expert analyses, and formal international evidence requests.
- The family says communication with Montenegrin authorities was poor, warns that potential witnesses left the country before being questioned, and has written to President Macron saying they feel abandoned.
- The information judiciaire is a French judicial step that lets an examining magistrate collect cross‑border evidence and compel formal investigative acts, which may speed requests to Montenegrin authorities and Interpol.