Less than a month before the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris, the eight bells of the north belfry rang out on Friday for the first time since the fire of April 2019, signifying one more step towards the resurrection of the cathedral. However, five years later, justice is still looking for what started the fire that ravaged it.
The judicial investigation into the reasons for the Notre-Dame fire has been launched for more than five years, numerous technical reports and certain expertise are still in progress, but this has not resulted in any indictment at this stage.
In April, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau declared on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the fire that “all avenues, including the hypothesis of human intervention, at the origin of this fire, (were) explored since the start of the investigations”.
“But it is true that the closer the searches are to the place of origin of the disaster and the more the analysis results arrive in this file, the more the accidental track is favored”, she emphasized.
The high magistrate also mentioned the new expertise requested by the investigating judges in 2023 “targeting what was found in the rubble, the starting point of the fire and the existing technical infrastructure in the cathedral”.
Ces analyses « were carried out, but given the extremely technical aspect, the investigating magistrates requested a summary”, that they are “put together to see if it is possible to determine a possible cause of the fire”the prosecutor said.
Asked by AFP during the week, the Paris prosecutor’s office indicated that the investigation was still ongoing, adding: “The investigating judge ordered an expert opinion requesting 3D modeling of the start of the flame based on images taken during the events. This modeling will make it possible to compare the different hypotheses.”
“No indictment has been issued” to date, said the public prosecutor, while a source close to the case indicated that the end of the investigation was approaching.
At the end of the preliminary investigation, before the referral to the investigating magistrates, the Paris prosecutor at the time, Rémy Heitz, indicated favoring the accidental track, evoking a poorly extinguished cigarette butt or an electrical malfunction.
Nothing seems to support the criminal trail since then.
“Over the past year, all areas have been cleared” without nevertheless revealing “a new element capable of being exploited”thus underlined in mid-2023 a judicial source.
Lead pollution
On April 15, 2019, the building, more than 850 years old and famous throughout the world, then undergoing restoration work, caught fire and lost its spire, its roof, its clock and part of its vault, which were destroyed. by the flames.
Several defects in the cathedral’s security were identified, notably in the building’s alarm system – which contributed to delaying the call to the firefighters on the day of the fire – or in the electrical system of a elevators.
These malfunctions were probably not the cause of the fire, but could have allowed the flames to spread throughout the building.
Since March 2023, justice has also been investigating the harmful consequences for health of this fire with global impact.
In this judicial investigation also still in progress, no indictment has been issued either, specified the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Overview
Two Parisian investigating judges are thus seized of the complaint filed in June 2022 by the Henri Pézerat association for the defense of health in connection with work and the environment, the CGT and two parents of students, accusing the authorities of not having taken all precautions to avoid contamination linked to lead pollution caused by the fire.
The plaintiffs were worried about the fall to the ground of the 400 tons of lead, a toxic heavy metal, from the roof and spire of Notre-Dame which went up in smoke, i.e. “nearly four times the annual emissions of lead into the atmosphere, throughout France”.
The judges are therefore investigating possible endangerment to which both local residents and workers who decontaminated the site were victims, according to the judicial source.
The CGT and the Henri Pézerat association were heard as civil parties.
According to another source close to the case, the same judge is designated in both instructions in order to “to have an overview” of the fire and its consequences.
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