lawsuit requested against Paris town hall for “homicides and involuntary injuries”

Something new in the investigation. On January 12, 2019, a terrible gas explosion in the heart of Paris, in the 9th arrondissement, killed four people and injured many others. The prospect of a trial became clearer several years later.

Offenses for “homicide and involuntary injuries”

The city of Paris and the CIPA Agency, the building union before the criminal court, are required to answer for the offenses of homicide and involuntary injuries, as well as involuntary destruction by the effect of an explosion or a fire.

The city of Paris is notably accused of “having committed errors of imprudence and negligence, by not carrying out the necessary investigations to determine the cause of the collapse of the sidewalk in front of the porch of n°6 rue de Trévise, and by not carrying out the work necessary to remedy it,” explains Laure Beccuau in a press release. “He is also accused of breaching an obligation of safety or prudence imposed by law or regulation, for not having carried out monitoring checks on the repairs to the sidewalk in front of the porch in accordance with the road regulations of the City of Paris in 2015”, adds the prosecutor.

It is now up to the investigating judges to decide whether or not to hold a criminal trial.

Shortcomings pointed out

On January 12, 2019, rue de Trévise in the 9th arrondissement, an explosion killed four people, including two firefighters, injured more than 200 people and left around 400 victims. This subsidence led to the rupture of a gas pipe which caused the explosion.

The union is suspected of having committed “a reckless or negligent fault consisting of delaying the repair of the building’s wastewater collector” even though it had been informed “as soon as the November 25, 2015 of a wastewater leak”, she continues. “These failings contributed” to the occurrence of the explosion, concludes Ms. Beccuau.

A judicial investigation was opened at the end of January 2019. The Paris town hall and the building’s co-ownership trustee were indicted during the procedure for “homicides and involuntary injuries” and “destruction, degradation or deterioration by the effect of an explosion or fire.

The construction company Fayolle, responsible for the work on the sidewalk in November 2016, had for its part been placed under the more favorable status of assisted witness. GRDF is not targeted by any lawsuit.