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But his victims - many of whom assiduously attended the three-month-long trial in Vannes, northern France - are lamenting the sentence.

After the verdict was read out, victims, journalists and lawyers mingled outside the courthouse in Vannes.

The seaside town of Vannes, in southern Brittany, had carefully prepared a special venue and a separate overflow amphitheatre for the occasion.

Le Scouarnec, 74, was being questioned in court in Vannes, Brittany, during the penultimate week of a long and gruelling trial which began in late February.

The trial started in Vannes, Brittany, on Monday.