The tragedy left eight people dead. At the trial of the deadly collapses of the buildings on rue d'Aubagne in Marseille six years ago, the court heard, on Friday, November 15, the families of the victims, after having heard from experts who described the dilapidation of these buildings and the ignored alerts.
Among the moving stories from relatives of victims, there is in particular that of Didjiak. He tells the stand about his brother Papé, whom he describes as his idol. He left Senegal in “the hope of a better life”. Papé was 40 years old, he died in Simona's apartment. He often went to her house, on the 3rd floor, “to reassure her”. Simona, 30, was afraid of this building but “She didn’t want us to worry.”say his parents. They had chipped in so she could move. “We told him: 'Leave everything and go away'cries his mother, “but she kept repeating: the experts say there are no risks”.
Simona had chosen Marseille for the sun, the sea, like Marie. This 55-year-old artist who loved her neighborhood, its smells of spices, its mixed inhabitants. She lived on the 5th floor. Her brother Paul says that when their mother understood that Marie was under the rubble, “she fell to the ground”victim of a stroke. “I am waiting for those responsible to be judged”explains Paul.
“That we can say to all those who manage housing that is not worthy: 'Be careful, justice is there, it watches and it punishes.'”
Paul, brother of a victimat franceinfo
Many tenants had warned about the condition of the building. Until this last phone call to the firefighter, the night before the tragedy, which the court broadcast. A chilling call that resonates in the immense courtroom. It is 2:40 a.m. on November 5, a few hours before the collapses. Marie is in her bed and reports hearing noises to the firefighter: “There was a big crack, it’s scary! It made another crack.” “Are the cracks getting bigger?”asks the firefighter.
“Yes, the one next to my bed, it’s getting bigger”indicates Marie who explains that there was, a few days earlier, an intervention by the emergency services, a visit by an expert, but that the building was not evacuated. “I keep calling the trustee”she said several times. Marie asks the firefighter: “Can it fall like that, all of a sudden?” “Nonreplies the firefighter, a building doesn't suddenly collapse, you can go back to sleep.”
