Two suspects in custody after town hall fire in Limoges

In the case of the town hall fire in Limoges, central France, an examining judge has opened formal investigations against the two people arrested. The 34 and 66 year old men were taken into custody, prosecutor Émilie Abrantes announced on Saturday.

Abrantes did not say which allegations were directed against which of the two. The procedure includes, among other things, attempted murder of public officials, destruction by an organized gang using a substance dangerous to people and the formation of a criminal organization to prepare a crime. When the fire broke out, 13 city police officers were in the town hall.

Investigators arrested the 66-year-old on Thursday morning in the neighboring department of Creuse, supported by the Raid special police unit. He was taken into custody for destruction by an organized gang using a substance dangerous to humans. On the same day, the public prosecutor's office expanded the 34-year-old's custody to include attempted murder of police officers and extended it by 48 hours.

The investigation was expanded, among other things, after questioning the 13 city police officers and evaluating drone images, said Abrantes. In addition to the investigators in Limoges, counter-terrorism police specialists are working on the case.

The 34-year-old was arrested on Tuesday in the Haute-Vienne department, whose capital is Limoges. Those around him describe him as an environmentalist. He is known to the authorities because of his alleged affiliation with the radical left and for violence against a police officer during a demonstration.

The conservative mayor of Limoges, Guillaume Guérin, accused the state of failing after the fire: the police did not have “enough resources” and retreated from the rioters. He demanded millions in government aid for reconstruction.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu visited the destroyed town hall on Friday together with Guérin and Culture Minister Catherine Pégard. He agreed to rebuild the building true to the original, using an accelerated process like the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

“The first commitment is that the local, municipal taxpayer will not put a euro into the reconstruction,” said Lecornu. He did not provide any information about the costs. The town hall is to be completely protected as a historical monument.

A week ago, hundreds of thousands of people took part in the nationwide protests against high living costs and abuses in the education system, mostly peacefully. During the riots on the sidelines, thousands of shops were damaged or looted, town halls and police stations were attacked and several buildings were set on fire. Nighttime curfews were in effect in several major cities.

The government primarily blames left-wing extremists for the violence. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, however, said on TF1 that she “absolutely cannot confirm” that the perpetrators in the capital were part of the extreme left.

President Emmanuel Macron met on Thursday with Lecornu, ministers and intelligence officials to, in his own words, take a “detailed inventory” of events.

Protests have been restricted in several cities this weekend and around 70,000 security forces have been mobilized. In Lyon, where there were also riots and looting, the prefecture banned all demonstrations on Saturday “in view of the events”.