Rue de Trévise explosion: trial opens with testimony from survivors
The trial into the rue de Trévise explosion of 12 January 2019, which killed four people and injured 66, opens on Tuesday 20 October in Paris. The City of Paris and the building's syndicate are being prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter.
Trial of rue de Trévise explosion: victims testify
According to TF1 Info, Amor Ben Taziri, seriously injured in the rue de Trévise explosion on 12 January 2019, returns to the scene and relives the images that haunt him since. While working as a receptionist at the hotel located opposite the site of the tragedy, he was thrown by the force of the blast, losing an eye and the use of his arm. "That day, my life changed, I almost died because I saw death," he confides. The tragedy claimed four lives and injured 66 people, leaving a neighbourhood profoundly marked.
The survivor's consequences extend beyond physical wounds. "At night, I don't sleep because I see it again, it's the only thing that comes to my head," recounts Ben Taziri. He had a six-month-old child at the time of the explosion and was never able to carry him because of his shoulder injuries, nor play with him. On the eve of the trial opening on Tuesday 20 October, TF1 Info gathered testimony from victims and their relatives.
No individuals appear before the judges: only the Paris municipal authority and the building syndicate are in the dock, being prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter. They are suspected of having neglected the subsidence of a pavement that eventually pierced the gas pipeline and caused the explosion. "I don't know who is responsible, everyone says: 'it's not me'. The council says it's the gas, the gas company says it's the syndicate," declares Ben Taziri, before adding: "Even if we go to court, what will that change for me? Nothing at all. But at least there would be recognition."
Simon Cartannaz, 28 years old, a firefighter who arrived among the first on the scene, was killed in the explosion. His partner Anaïs and his sister Justine testify for the first time on the eve of the trial. "My world collapsed, everything was gone, I had nothing left," recounts Anaïs. Justine remembers her brother repeating his motto: "save or perish". She adds: "He hammered it into us but we didn't realise it at the time, he was just preparing us for the worst if it was going to happen."
Blocked in their grief without answers, the two women will attend the seven weeks of trial in Paris. "It's going to be the hardest part because we won't have the guilty parties facing us," explains Justine. "I have a lot of anger, enormous anger, because this accident could have been prevented and Simon would still be alive. I would like there to be those responsible," concludes Anaïs. Defence lawyers have not responded to TF1. The Paris municipal authority has allocated 20 million euros to compensate the victims.
Source: TF1 Info