A man in his thirties was sentenced on Friday 18 October by the criminal court of the Charente to twelve years’ imprisonment for starting 32 fires between July 2022 and October 2023 in the south of the department. The defendant, aged 32 and the father of two children, has decided not to appeal, according to his lawyer.
The judges noted acts of exceptional gravity, including a forest fire covering nearly 150 hectares and a blaze at a farm building containing 1,000 tonnes of straw. In total, the incidents caused damage estimated at two million euros and mobilised some 2,000 firefighters, who were already under strain due to the forest fires ravaging the Neighbouring Gironde during the summer of 2022.
A series of fires with serious consequences
During his closing speech, the Crown Prosecutor had described the defendant as a ‘living bomb’, emphasising the dangerous nature of his actions. In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered ten years’ socio-judicial supervision with a mandatory treatment order, an obligation to work and to compensate the victims, as well as a ban on residing in Charente and on working in the forestry sector.
The arsonist’s motives – he was already known to the police for burglary offences – remain unclear. During his trial, he spoke of a “sense of unease” linked to a childhood marked by domestic violence, financial difficulties, the loss of a child and alcohol addiction. He also acknowledged a “need for recognition”, stating: “Perhaps I tried a little too hard to get people talking about me,” according to AFP, as reported by BFMTV