At the time, we were in the midst of agribashing. These fires had greatly moved the profession. But they had nothing to do with politics, it was the work of young people who were a little lost. At the helm of the criminal court on Thursday, Lucas still struggled to explain.
At 24 now, the young man stands with his arms crossed, triturates his nails. He speaks very little. At the time, he worked in the cleaning of agricultural buildings, his family was from the area. That night, after buying firecrackers with his two friends, they set off as a challenge: “cap or not cap to set fire somewhere”. Results : more than 700,000 euros in damage, stocks of straw, sheds, burned machinery, and 25 dead cows. “When you love nature, when you want to work in agriculture, how can you do that?” asks the president of the court. “At that time, I wasn’t…” : Lucas does not finish his sentences. At that moment, he is bad. In the middle of a breakup, his family turns their back on him, he attempts suicide, and anything for a few months. He shoots with a pellet gun through the car window, he is condemned. There are suspicions of sexual abuse of a minor, legal proceedings are underway. And so he sets these farms on fire. Perhaps not by chance makes him understand a psychologist. The sheds belong to his great-uncle (the one from Saint-Antoine-l’Abbaye) and to two farmers known to his father who abused him in his childhood.
“I am sorry” explains Lucas, “I know it affected the farmers, they lost their jobs. If they were there, I would apologize, but it’s nothing compared to what they got.” Lucas gets the 2 years in prison, but the sentence is flexible, and 2 years suspended sentence with the obligation to seek treatment and to have socio-judicial follow-up. The young man is now a forklift operator on the logistics platform of a toy brand. He has not been talked about since these few months of drift three years ago.
His two underage accomplices were tried earlier. One was sentenced to 12 months in prison with a probationary reprieve; the second, less involved, of 6 months suspended. All will have to compensate the victims. The civil interests hearing will be held in January.