Two former mayors of Lamalou-les-Bains, a town in the hinterland of Hérault, were given a one-year suspended prison sentence for homicide and involuntary injury by the Béziers criminal court.
During the night of September 17 to 18, 2014, floods led to the death of four people present in the campsite of this spa resort.
Eleven other people, also residents of the campsite, were injured in these bad weather, which also caused extensive material damage.
The two former city councilors, Marcel Roques, 73, centrist mayor from 1983 to March 2014, and his successor Philippe Tailland, also 73, in office at the time of the tragedy, were also permanently banned from exercising a job in the function. public.
They will each have to pay more than 10,000 euros to the civil parties.
No backup plan and no evacuation of the campsite
President Nadège Larochette explained the conviction of Marcel Roques for not having established "a safeguard plan" and not having "respected the training of personnel provided for by the texts".
And that of Philippe Tailland for "not having had the campsite evacuated".
Seven decrees of natural disasters were taken on the commune between 1982 and 1996, including six following floods and mudslides.
Justice
Floods in Lamalou-les-Bains: Suspended prison sentence required against former mayors
Company
Four dead in bad weather in Lamalou: Opening of a judicial investigation
Justice
Beziers
Flood
Severe weather
Occitania
Languedoc Roussillon