the essential
Mathis Toffolon died on the morning of November 4 in a melting room at the Victor-Hugo market, in the heart of Toulouse. His family is wondering, their lawyers are getting impatient, but the investigations are progressing.
“There were findings, a few hearings but no indictment. The same questions remain unanswered.” My Marie Bellen-Rotger and Kamel Benamghar are getting impatient. Charged by the family of Mathis Toffolon “to understand” what happened on the morning of Saturday November 4, 2023, at the Victor-Hugo market in Toulouse, the lawyers are wondering.
DDM, – NATHALIE SAINT AFFRE.
Seized two weeks after the death of the young rugby player, an investigating judge left her office this summer. His replacement discovers the files while Mathis' family, devastated by the sudden loss of this son, desperately waits for answers. “The death of this boy cannot only be linked to fate. That would be too easy,” warn Messrs Bellen-Rotger and Benamghar. Which also seems to be the opinion of the police officers who are working discreetly on this file.
Two searches at town hall
The interviews carried out, including in the context of police custody, reflect the desire of investigators from the personal injury brigade to clarify the circumstances of this tragedy. These police officers from the territorial crime division also carried out two searches by commission of request in the offices of the town hall of Toulouse.
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After Mathis' death, an investigating judge investigates the security of the Victor-Hugo market
The police were looking for documents to determine how the security of this melter had been taken into account by municipal teams. When questioned, the installer, a subsidiary of the Eiffage group, did not mention any technical constraints and especially precautions around equipment installed in a public place.
“Why at 4:30 a.m., on the morning of the tragedy, was the water already at more than 60°?, ask the lawyers for Mathis’s family. And why did access to this machine not benefit from any protection, nor even a sign to warn of the danger?
These questions, which raise suspicions of negligence, arose the day after the death of Mathis Toffolon. They motivate police investigations. For what legal action? “The site manager cannot be the only one to be held accountable,” believe Messrs Bellen-Rotger and Benamghar. The choice of prosecution will be decided in the office of the investigating judge.
