Four men were sentenced Monday to terms of six months to three years in prison for the fire of the prefecture of Puy-en-Velay in 2018 on the sidelines of a demonstration of "yellow vests".
"I do not know", "I do not remember", "I did not think", "I happened by chance": defendants aged 21 to 37 struggled throughout the hearing to explain the reasons for their involvement in this fire which had marked the spirits at the height of the "yellow vests" movement. Eighteen gendarmes and police were injured.
Up to several dozen "yellow vests" took turns all day Monday in front of the criminal court as a sign of support for the defendants, displaying a banner on which was written "the fire we all lit."
"Bottle of water" or Molotov cocktail
However, of the four defendants, only one clearly claimed support for the movement. Gabin Joubert, the youngest and "the best socially integrated", according to the prosecutor Nicolas Rigot-Muller, explained without conviction that he had demonstrated "at the beginning against the rise in fuels" and "against the (transition to) 80 km / h ".
Beard and black hair cut short, the young man admitted to having been present in front of the prefecture on December 1, and to having thrown what he believed to be a bottle of water through a window of the building. It was actually a Molotov cocktail type projectile.
"What do you say to yourself?" "Questions President Nizar Samlal. "I don't really know", "I don't remember", he tries, before admitting that he wanted to "bring (his) stone to the building, to dirty, not to destroy". "Mr. Joubert, he is young, he is twenty years old, he takes part in this demonstration, he forgets himself a little, but the acts he committed are not very serious either," argued his lawyer Cécile Linossier. His client will be sentenced to two years in prison, including eighteen months suspended.
"Respond to those who say that this outburst of violence is legitimate"
Christophe Frémont, 31, assured him at the helm that he had passed "by chance" that day and that he did not belong to the "yellow vests". He received two years in prison with 14 months suspended sentence. Two years in prison, including 12 months suspended, were pronounced against François Rodriguez, 37, who said he came to the scene in support of "friends" yellow vests "". The fourth defendant, Dylan Bouzarti, 22, imprisoned for other acts, refused to be removed from his cell. Questioned by videoconference, he did not wish to answer.
The accused under curatorship was also prosecuted for "violence with the use or threat of a weapon" for throwing a bottle of acid at the police. He was sentenced to three years in prison, a sentence lower than that of six years claimed by the prosecutor.
On December 1, 2018, in Puy-en-Velay, a “calm and peaceful” city, “it was chaos, not just scuffles”, had previously noted the prosecutor in his closing statement, referring to a “major breach of the social contract” . He had notably recalled that around thirty people were inside the building when he caught fire. It is not a question of "putting the trial of the demonstration of the" yellow vests "" but of "responding to (those who) dare to say that this unleashing of violence is legitimate because based on the anger of the most deprived", declared for its part, the lawyer for civil parties Emmanuelle Bonnet, representing the State and three police officers. Referring to a "symbol of the state and democracy", she said that the damage done by the prefecture had been estimated at 250,000 euros.
- Society
- Fire
- Aquitaine
- Puy-en-velay
- Justice
- Yellow vests