Accused of having caused six arson attacks which ravaged several hectares of forest, the former fire chief of Marcillac-la-Croisille, in Corrèze, was sentenced to three years in prison. In front of the court where he was tried this Tuesday, the man justified his actions by the need to “tighten the bonds” of his team.
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“He was unsuspected, he was a good center manager.” These words are those of the fire department of Alain Tabaste, the former head of the Marcillac-la-Croisille barracks, in Corrèze. The 63-year-old man appeared this Tuesday, November 5, before the Tulle judicial court. Accused of causing six arson in forests between 2020 and 2022, he was sentenced to five years in prison, two of which were suspended.
As center leader, you try to create group cohesion. You need big interventions to strengthen ties with everyone.
Alain TabasteConvicted of six arsons
At the helm, the arsonist justifies his actions by the need to guarantee the proper functioning of the emergency center and therefore, the supposed good of his team made up of around 25 volunteers. An argument swept aside by the president: “The gendarmes do not commit thefts to ensure the cohesion of the brigade.”
The facts date back to spring 2022. On March 22, between five and six hectares of forest were ravaged by flames in Eyrein, a small town near Tulle. The fires broke out at midday in two locations, less than three kilometers from each other. The first around 12:30 p.m., the second around 1 p.m.
The fire spread very quickly in this massif of conifers, carried by gusts of more than fifty km/hour, the relief and the vegetation. More than 110 firefighters, including those from Marcillac-la-Croisille, were mobilized.
The event caused a lot of noise and traumatized part of the population. “I went out and saw big flames everywhere. It’s right behind the house, I’m afraid it’s going to go up.”said a resident of Eyrein, on the microphone of France 3 Limousin, a few hours after the events.
Between 5 and 6 hectares of forest burned in March 2022 in an arson attack in Eyrein, in Corrèze. Archive photo
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© FTV
Two days later, on March 25, 2022, a fire was started on the edge of a wooded area, in Gimel-les-Cascades, not far from the Marcillac barracks. Then, a few hours later, another in Sexcles, in the south of the department.
This Tuesday, November 5, at the Tulle court, the debates revolve around the Espagnac fire in April 2020. A 38-hectare fire in full confinement. The accused denies, but acknowledges a fire declared the same day ten kilometers away. “The law will punish me, I understand, I did wrong. But I want to be punished for what I committed”defends Alain Tabaste.
Are you telling us that in the middle of a period of confinement, there were two arsonists in the area on the same day?
Lawyer for the civil party
For Maître Dominique Val, lawyer for the civil party, Alain Tabaste “does not want to recognize the consequences” of the Espagnac fire, the most devastating of the seven cities. “We are on the same operating mode. This was very significant in terms of the damage suffered by the owner and the means deployed since in addition to the local firefighters, Canadair had to be brought in”she recalls.
The former head of the Marcillac-la-Croisille fire station, in Corrèze, was convicted of causing six arsons between 2020 and 2022.
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© Anais Lebranchu / FTV
The accused's lawyer, Maître Laura Crouzillac, describes a “devouring desire to give everything for this barracks to the point of being consumed by it and managing to cross the impassable”. Since being taken into custody, Alain Tabaste has spoken of his fear that the barracks will suffer budget cuts or removals of equipment, due to a lack of sufficient functioning.
During the trial, the Corrézien apologized numerous times to “firefighters, victims, (his) family”but struggles to recognize the danger to the firefighters he was supervising. “I have never heard of a firefighter injured in a fire in Corrèze.”he declares.
I must have done 4,000 or 5,000 procedures in thirty-nine years. Five days, I've been stupid and I'm going to pay for it. Of course I'll pay for it.
Alain TabasteConvicted of six arsons
Colonel Franck Tournié, director of the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service of Corrèze, is sorry about the “discredit cast on the institution”. “The population manages to make generalizations with exceptions, unfortunately. We hear that firefighters are arsonists… Quite the contrary”he insists, pointing “the incoherence of the speech” by Alain Tabaste who thus sought to create “cohesion” in his group.
You never know how the intervention will turn out. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but we know very well that when you take risks, firefighters can be injured.
Colonel Franck TourniéDirector of the SDIS of Corrèze
During his indictment for “destruction of another person’s property by dangerous means” in April 2022, after a search of his home, the premises of his public works company and the Marcillac-la-Croisille barracks, the head of the center was immediately suspended from his duties. He had been a volunteer firefighter for almost forty years.
