In September 2015, Thibaud Garagnon set fire to two strollers on the ground floor of 4, rue Myrha, then causing the death of eight people.

During his trial, the young man of 24 years did not cease to present himself as a victim in this case.

Thibaud Garagnon was sentenced Thursday to 20 years of criminal imprisonment by the Paris Assize Court for the arson in 2015 of the building at 4 rue Myrha, which resulted in the death of eight people.

The 24-year-old greeted the verdict stoically.

He was also sentenced to a socio-judicial follow-up of twelve years on his release from prison and, in the event of breach, to a prison sentence of seven years.

The Advocate General had requested 25 years of criminal imprisonment with a two-thirds security sentence.

For his lawyer, Me Laurent Thieffry, "the court certainly took into account the particular personality of Thibaud Garagnon, his young age at the time of the facts and the need for his reintegration".

"Not at all satisfied"

On the side of the civil parties, the reactions oscillated between relief and anger.

"I have a feeling of calm," said the mother of one of the fire victims.

"I have the impression to be able to breathe better. The anxieties will surely go away, I hope", continued the woman whose son was defenestrated.

"Regardless of the sentence (to which the accused was sentenced), my fear was that he would do it again," she added.

"We are not at all satisfied," said Alassane Tandian, one of the victims of the fire.

Throughout the trial, Thibaud Garagnon did not respect "neither the court nor the civil parties".

"He had fun in front of us," lamented Alassane Tandian.

A destructive "drive"

During his trial, Thibaud Garagnon invariably dressed in t-shirts bearing the effigy of the My Little Pony series, did not have words of compassion for the victims presenting himself as "a victim".

On September 2, 2015, around 4:20 am, Thibaud Garagnon, tenant of a studio on the 2nd floor of the building at 4 rue Myrha, got up with, in his own words, "the drive to want to destroy something ".

He had set fire to one of the strollers stored on the ground floor near the stairwell before going back to bed.

The fire quickly ravaged the building causing the death of eight people including two children.