“A lot of emotions”: six years after the explosion on Rue de Trévise, residents return home

On January 12, 2019, an explosion on rue de Trévise, in the 9th arrondissement, killed four people, including two firefighters, injured more than 200 people and left around 400 victims. For the first time in almost six years, the affected residents were able to find their homes. This is the case of Odile, requested in the subject of 1 p.m. to be found at the top of this article. She finally visits her renovated Parisian apartment, the symbol of a page turning.

Six years after the explosion on Rue de Trévise, she was one of the many victims who were able to return to live in her home, where time seemed to stand still: “Just before the explosion, I came to finish my breakfast”she said, pointing to the dishes that had remained unchanged in her dishwasher for six years. The apartment hasn't changed, but Odile's life has. She now returns to live in this apartment alone, after the death of her husband. For her, returning to this place is responsible for “a lot of anxiety” : “Fortunately, my daughter stays with me for four days, otherwise I would not have succeeded”she says, without being afraid of the explosion, even if, she admits, she “thinks about it all the time.”

“At 4 rue de Trévise, we are almost all in debt”

For some victims, they will have to wait before they can live here again. The building where Dominique, another resident of rue de Trévise, lived, is still under construction. There is still no electricity or gas. “It’s a lot of emotions, it’s been six years,” does she slip.

To finance the repeated moves and furniture storage, Dominique has fallen into debt of more than 100,000 euros since the explosion. She is still waiting for reimbursements from insurers: “I am not an isolated case”she said. “At 4 rue de Trévise, we are almost all in debt. And this was also seen during the elevator vote: there were certain people who did not vote simply because they did not have no money.”

Disabled and unemployed victims

Others will never come back here like Linda and Angela who worked in a hotel on this street. Today, they are disabled, unemployed. Angela had come from Italy to realize her dream, to become a dancer. But she lost the use of her foot during the explosion. “Now I'm 30, it's difficult because I always have to ask my mother for things”she said, in tears, to TF1.

• Read also

  Rue de Trévise: justice orders a second opinion, requested by Paris town hall

On a legal level, a lawsuit was requested against the City of Paris and the co-ownership trustee for a series of breaches. In its indictment in October, the prosecution requested that the Paris town hall and the building's co-ownership trustee be tried before the criminal court for “homicides and involuntary injuries”. The public prosecutor also requires that they appear for “unintentional destruction by explosion or fire”. It is now up to the investigating judges to decide whether or not to hold a trial.