During this last day of hearing at the Marseille criminal court this Wednesday, December 18, the defense of Julien Ruas pleaded for the release of the former elected official. The deliberations will be delivered on July 7, 2025.
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After six weeks of hearings at the Marseille criminal court, the trial into the collapse of the buildings on rue d’Aubagne, a tragedy which caused the death of eight people on November 5, 2018, ended this Wednesday, December 18. A final day, marked by the defense argument of Julien Ruas, former deputy mayor in charge of urban risks, and the announcement of the deliberation on July 7, 2025.
The lawyers of Julien Ruas, the only municipal elected official to be implicated, pleaded for acquittal, like several other defendants, wishing “that the trial of rue d’Aubagne is not a judgment of the street“, while the prosecution is demanding a three-year prison sentence against him.
They also asked the court to avoid making their client the “scapegoat for the mandate of Jean-Claude Gaudin“, died in May 2024.”Is it a criminal offense if when I ask for little, I am granted even less?“, added Julien Ruas, regarding the alleged lack of staff.
During the last authorized speeches, few defendants spoke. The court finally announced a deliberation on the date of July 7, 2025, concluding that for the eight victims who died in 2018, “honoring memory means striving to be as fair as possible in the search for and punishment of those who are likely to be criminally responsible for their disastrous fate“.
The previous days had been particularly charged with emotions, during the evocation of the victims and their loved ones. The Marseille prosecutor, Nicolas Bessone, appeared in person to request, describing the tragedy as “wound in the heart of Marseille“, with victims”died due to greed, negligence or incompetence” et “above all the indifference of all“.
