He didn't just start a fire and then disappear. He would have meticulously prepared his attack, using several products and taking care to place fire starters at the bottom of the roller shutters of the businesses. During the night from Sunday to Monday, a man is suspected of having tried to set fire to the famous covered market on Place d'Aligre in Paris (12th century). His attempt failed. The firefighters arrived in time. But the mysterious arsonist is still running.
Around 2:30 a.m., according to a police source, a local resident telephoned the Paris fire brigade. A fire has just been lit inside the covered market. Professionals rush to the scene. Indeed, a fire has just started. It didn't take long for the firefighters to put out the fire, which didn't have time to spread.
A few minutes later, the police arrived. Very quickly, the criminal origin is favored. Because according to the firefighters, there were two separate outbreaks.
By examining the scene, the officials discovered that the arsonist had not improvised anything. On site, they found a well-filled 20 liter jerry can, a liter of fire starter and a bottle of white spirit. And there are these countless fire starter pellets scattered in front of the mechanical shutters of businesses.
If the criminal origin is in no doubt, no suspect has yet been arrested. We also don't know what his motive may be. Technicians from the central police laboratory went to the site to identify possible clues.
The municipality, for its part, sent people to secure the premises. The public prosecutor's office opened an investigation and entrusted it to the 12th arrondissement police station.