27 years of imprisonment requested against the accused

A sentence of 27 years of criminal imprisonment was requested against the accused, Wednesday February 22, at the trial of the fire on rue Erlanger in Paris, which had caused the death of 10 people in 2019. The result, according to the accusation, of “willful and disproportionate action”.

The Advocate General, Rémi Crosson du Cormier, asked that this sentence be accompanied by 18 years of security and 15 years of socio-judicial follow-up, including an obligation of care and compensation for the victims. The representative of the prosecution admitted that the judgment of the accused was “altered” at the time of the events, as concluded by two psychiatric expert reports. However, he asked the jury not to apply the reduction in sentence allowed by the penal code in this case, “in view of the extreme gravity of the tragedy” caused by his “willful, vengeful and disproportionate action”.

Neither “a delusional gesture”, nor “an impulsive gesture”

Essia Boularès, a 44-year-old woman who suffers from addictions and significant psychiatric disorders, admitted to having set fire to her building in the 16th arrondissement of Paris the night of February 4 to 5, 2019, after a dispute with a neighbor. The toxic fumes and the flames had invaded in a few minutes the eight floors of this old building at the back of the courtyard, difficult to access for the emergency services, trapping many inhabitants in their apartments.

If Essia Boulares has “a complex personality”his decision to set the fire is neither “a delirious gesture”neither “an impulsive move”but the result of “his uncontrolled anger exacerbated by his alcoholism”, estimated the representative of the prosecution. Imprisoned shortly after the events, Essia Boularès carried out most of her pre-trial detention in a specially equipped hospital unit (UHSA), a structure dedicated to detainees requiring psychiatric care.

In the morning, the victims’ lawyers had called the jury to “Doing justice commensurate with their suffering” and protect society “sustainably and efficiently” acts of the accused. The two lawyers of Essia Boularès must plead Wednesday afternoon. The verdict is expected on Thursday.