“It is an unjustifiable act of great cowardice!” Thierry Falconnet, the PS mayor of Chenôve is as moved as he is angry. This Saturday, March 12 at midday, he brings together his entire municipal council in front of the municipal police station partly burnt down during the night. Shortly before 4 a.m., a car was burned just in front of the glass door of the reception desk of this police station, and the flames damaged the entire facade of the building. This municipal police station is next to the town hall building and faces the town’s central square, a stone’s throw from the tram terminus. All of this took place right in the city centre.
“When you attack a republican institution, it’s an attack!” shouts the mayor. “All of this, we know, is the work of a tiny minority, people who put themselves on the sidelines and refuse the laws of the Republic. It is also a sign that we are at work and that we are disturbing. We will continue !”
– Olivier Estran
Fabien Sudry, the prefect of Côte-d’Or came to support local elected officials, and he recalls that the State has sent 40 additional police officers to the field for 3 days. A reinforcement that remains in place until further notice. “We take this fire as retaliation” explains the prefect. “At the start of the week, the police intervened to stop a rodeo. A man on a scooter then deliberately ran into a CRS. This officer was seriously injured and got away with 45 days off work. The author of the facts is in pre-trial detention and will be tried on April 8.
– Olivier Estran
“We don’t want to relive what we experienced in 2019” specifies Thierry Falconet. “We then had fires and damage that lasted 6 months. The recreation center had been set on fire, and the perpetrators have not been identified. This time the drama unfolded under the gaze of video surveillance cameras, which could facilitate the work of investigators.
– Olivier Estran
We want to leave” -Joëlle, a resident
On the square, some residents take a look at the crowd and at the blackened facade of the building “We are not surprised, it is getting worse and worse” breath Veronique. “I called the fire brigade when I heard the explosions of the fire” explains Fabrice a neighbor “We’re really fed up, and since the metropolis takes care of us, nothing is going well. It’s been several days since there was no public lighting in the place where it happened” he says. “Me Chenôve, I no longer want to stay there” assures his companion, “even if we bought an apartment in 2007. Those who are building next door, I wonder who will live there.”
– Olivier Estran
“We are ashamed” summarizes Djilalli. “I have lived here for 50 years and the atmosphere is no longer the same. Police reinforcements will not solve everything. It takes a lot of firmness in the face of those who commit such things. A real response from justice, and not finding them on the street a few days later.”
A dozen municipal police officers work in the premises who was targeted. The reception of the public is no longer possible, but the agents should remain in post in the same place after cleaning their premises. Their work in any case is not interrupted and the police can be reached at the usual numbers.