three defendants receive suspended prison sentences

The criminal court of Angers (Maine-et-Loire) delivered its judgment, Tuesday, May 31, following the collapse of the balcony in 2016: 18 months suspended prison sentence for three of the builders of the building. The architect and the works manager were released. At the end of the hearing, the families of the victims are disappointed. Pascale Chéné lost her 18-year-old daughter in the accident, and her 20-year-old son was seriously injured. “I think of my daughter, my son, and all the others. (…) I’m mad“, she confides. She hopes that the prosecutor will appeal the judgment.

“[C’]is a criminal conviction for acts of an involuntary nature. So it is certain that in this type of case, the victims always have the feeling that the sentence pronounced is unrelated to the pain they have suffered”, commented Me Marc Morin, lawyer for the civil parties. The tragedy took place during a housewarming party. Twenty young people were talking when the balcony broke away, killing four and injuring 14, all in their twenties.