Residents of a small town in southern France discovered three charred bodies in a burning car in a nearby pine grove on Christmas night, an investigating source told AFP. Residents of the town of Les Pennes-Mirabeau made the gruesome discovery when they investigated an explosion in the grove shortly before midnight. Last week, the charred body of a resident of Marseille was found in a burning car in a parking lot in Septemes-les-Vallons, a town close to Les Pennes-Mirabeau. The man, who had a criminal record for drug trafficking, had been shot in the head. The region has seen several similar executions in recent years.