“the neighborhood doesn’t deserve this”

At dawn this Friday, a car was thrown into the shopping center in the Couronneries district of Poitiers, in Vienne. Two businesses were destroyed by fire. An administrative investigation is underway.

It’s a bitter morning for the residents of the Couronneries district. Around 5 a.m. on June 28, a ram vehicle caused a fire destroying two businesses and damaging seven other premises in the neighborhood shopping center. Among these affected buildings, the pharmacy, the entire stock of which was contaminated. The ten employees have been furloughed to date. “We are a little sad and saddened by the situation, we are trying to do the best for a neighborhood that is friendly and friendly. An event like this impacts everyone”testified, Thomas Lhervois, a pharmacist concerned, before concluding: “The neighborhood doesn’t deserve this.”

To bring the fire under control, early in the morning, 25 firefighters were called to the scene. The ram car, which was thrown onto the Couronneries shopping center, was extracted from the building mid-morning. No arrests have been made so far.

On site, the presence of law enforcement was reinforced with around fifteen police officers. Shocked local residents expressed “great pain”. “Shops are the vitality of the neighborhood,” said a resident awakened by the fire.

An administrative investigation, entrusted to the Poitiers police station, was opened for destruction by dangerous means. No human casualties have been reported according to our information.

The mayor of Poitiers, Léonore Moncond’huy, spoke out on the social network X and condemned “closely arson”.

These facts occur Just one year after the riots sparked by the death of Nahel Merzouk in Nanterre, which set France ablaze at the end of June 2023. As a reminder, the Couronneries district had been strongly affected. It had notably been the target of fires and damage.

Also read: Riots in Poitiers: in Couronneries, traders do not forget the solidarity of residents