Public buildings ransacked, cars burned: the trial of the Cantepau riots opens this Thursday

This is the only case heard this Thursday, December 19 at the Albi criminal court. From 9 a.m., magistrates will judge the six adult defendants suspected of having participated in the ransacking and fires of public buildings and vehicles committed on the night of June 29 to 30, 2023 in the Cantepau district of Albi.

Among them, four are still in pre-trial detention and will be escorted to the defendants’ box by prison administration agents. Two other suspects who were minors at the time of the events will be tried on another date by the Albi children’s court.

All were indicted as part of the judicial investigation opened in September 2023 for fire and theft by an organized gang and destruction of public property during a meeting. The investigations were entrusted to the Albi police station, in co-responsibility with the territorial direction of the judicial police of Toulouse.

Two days after the death of young Nahel in Nanterre, killed on June 27, 2023 by a police officer following a refusal to comply, urban violence broke out in the Cantepau district. On the night of June 29 to 30, around fifty young people confronted the police by throwing stones at them.

During the night, certain rioters entered the headquarters of the departmental delegation of the Regional Health Agency (ARS), on Boulevard Maréchal Lannes, and set it on fire. In the building parking lot, six ARS service cars and two from the Department were burned. At Square Bonaparte, the premises of France Services and the Maison du Département were ransacked, as was the Tarn Habitat agency on Avenue Kellerman. The total amount of damage was estimated at more than 2.6 million euros.