The trial has started in the case of a French woman who shot dead a man she says abused her years – first as her stepfather then later as her husband. Valerie Bacot was just 12 when Daniel Polette began raping her. He was jailed but later returned to the family home and allegedly resumed the abuse. She alleges he forced her to marry him and fathered her four children. Ms Bacot admits killing him in 2016 but more than 600,000 people have signed a petition calling for her release. She says she shot Polette dead during an encounter in which he had allegedly been forcing her to work as a prostitute. Ms Bacot hid the body with the help of two of her children but was arrested in October 2017 and confessed to the killing. The trial is a major news story in France and has galvanised public debate about violence against women.(BBC)…[+]