Europe 1 with AFP 11:35 a.m., March 9, 2024

Five men suspected of having set fire to the imposing wooden door of Bordeaux city hall a year ago during the pensions conflict appeared in court on Monday.

All of the defendants, aged between 19 and 41, are being prosecuted before the criminal court for “participation in a group formed with a view to preparing violence”.

Five men suspected of having set fire to the imposing wooden door of Bordeaux town hall a year ago during the conflict over pensions, a few days before a visit by the King of England which was finally postponed, appear on Monday before the court. 

All of the defendants, aged between 19 and 41, are being prosecuted before the criminal court for "participation in a group formed with a view to preparing violence";

three of them must also answer for “degradation or deterioration” of property “by dangerous means”.

A sixth suspect, aged 17 at the time of the facts, was referred to the juvenile court for “degradation”.

The door to the porch of the Gironde town hall was set on fire on the evening of March 23, 2023 after a day of demonstrations against pension reform marred by excesses.

And this a few days before a planned visit to France, with a passage through Bordeaux, of King Charles III of England, the postponement of which had been announced the day after the events.

Four of the suspects already convicted

According to investigators, the suspects were identified via witness and video surveillance images.

They were part of a group which, a few hours after the end of the official demonstration, piled up trash cans, pallets and metal barriers in front of the entrance to the town hall, before setting it on fire and fanning it with other objects.

Four of the suspects have already been convicted of acts of violence, damage, theft or damage to property and as many have an addiction to alcohol and cannabis, according to the prosecution.

Three were unemployed, including two presented as homeless, at the time of the events.

"Was there a general slogan? Was it an isolated act? Who lit the first fuse? The investigation does not allow us to answer these questions", criticizes Me Étienne Bouchareissas, lawyer for a 37-year-old defendant, of no fixed address.

The disaster, of which images of flames several meters high had widely circulated, lasted a quarter of an hour before being extinguished by the firefighters.

The town hall, which became a civil party, assessed the material damage to the building - the Palais Rohan - which is listed as a historic monument, at 600,000 euros.

An “identical” reconstruction of this solid wood structure dating back several centuries is planned for the fall.

The burned door had been dismantled for safety in June, replaced by a temporary one.