Thursday October 3, the Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand church in Poitiers, a medieval monument listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, was deliberately set on fire. Although neither the roof nor the structure of the 10th century building were affected, the interior of the church was considerably damaged, with works of art burned. Emergency services noticed a fire starting “in the middle of the nave”. The same evening, the Poitiers public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into intentional damage and damage to property designated for worship. The Poitiers police station was responsible for the investigations.
An investigation which bore fruit, since the public prosecutor of Poitiers, Cyril Lacombe, announced that a suspect was arrested this Thursday, reported Le Figaro. At the end of his police custody, he was placed in detention and will be tried on Friday afternoon before the Poitiers criminal court. He is being prosecuted for “arson”.
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After these “damage” observed in the church, the town hall of Poitiers had deplored a series of recent acts of vandalism in several other churches in the city: “It is urgent to put an end to this series of degradations observed in the churches of Poitiers”. Indeed, this is the third fire in a church in the city of Poitiers since the start of the year.
