Firefighters responded to several fires during the night of Wednesday June 12 to Thursday June 13 in the Grenoble metropolis. In La Tronche but also near the Grand’Place shopping center in Grenoble where several stores are without power. An investigation was actually opened by the Grenoble public prosecutor’s office, and entrusted to the judicial police, because the destruction of these two electrical stations is necessarily reminiscent of the wave of fires in Grenoble in recent years.
Moreover, according to the public prosecutor of Grenoble, Eric Vaillant, “the near simultaneity of the fires at the two transformers, located around ten kilometers from each other, in fact suggests sabotage by the libertarian ultra-left. No demands have yet been made, but there are not always any“.
A first fire in La Tronche
A first fire on an electrical transformer broke out on avenue du Grand Sablon in La Tronche at 1:20 a.m. 80 homes were deprived of electricity. Enedis has temporarily installed generators since 8 a.m., in particular to power the funeral home site located nearby.
These generators will supply the affected households until the end of the work. This work could last several days and cost several tens of thousands of euros.
The Grand’Place shopping center
Two hours later, at 3:17 a.m., at 21 avenue de l’Europe in Grenoble, a fire broke out on a high-voltage transformer. The fire broke out in this old EDF building, the door was broken. “The site experienced break-ins a few days ago”, indicates the national police. This high-voltage station supplies 15 other transformers in the sector. Between 3,000 and 4,000 people are affected by these power cuts. Notably the Trésorerie Générale but also the Grand’Place shopping center. The site’s technical managers indicate that the shopping center is equipped with an emergency station and that the power supply was therefore able to continue. The arson trail is preferred.
Nourhane Mahmoudi
