Accident or voluntary act? The origin of the fire which damaged the cathedral of Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) destroying in particular its large organ dating from the 17th century, Saturday morning, remains to be determined. The two hypotheses are explored in parallel by investigators, who rely heavily on forensic findings.
This Sunday evening, a man came out free around 9 pm "awaiting further investigation," according to a source familiar with the matter. Aged 39 and a native of Rwanda, he is a refugee in France and has lived in Nantes for several years where he is part of a team of volunteers serving the parish. He had been placed in police custody on Saturday, police custody which had been extended to 1 pm this Sunday. The investigators had to shed light on his timetable at the time of the events, which would present contradictions. The man emerged "without any prosecution," said prosecutor Pierre Sennès.
It was he who, on Friday evening, was responsible for closing Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul cathedral to the public at 7 p.m. But he was not the last on the scene. “I arrived just before closing and I installed myself at the Grand Organ to rehearse, explains Michel Bourcier, one of the three organists. So I did not meet him. I closed behind me at 9 p.m., taking care to cut off the power supply on the organ gallery, everything was off and there was no one inside or around, 'assures us this one.
Around 7:45 am Saturday morning, passers-by who noticed the smoke and called the firefighters, who managed to quickly contain the incident. The absence of a break-in and the fact that the fire started in three separate places led the Nantes public prosecutor's office to open an investigation for "arson".
"An extremely kind, polite, sympathetic man"
“Between the large organ, which is on the facade on the first floor and the other lights, you have almost the entire distance from the cathedral. They are still at a significant distance from each other, "noted the prosecutor Pierre Sennès Saturday, while urging caution:" Any interpretation that could implicate this person in the commission of the facts is premature and hasty. "
For those who know him, it is difficult to imagine this volunteer, named Emmanuel, committing such an act. "He's someone I have met for several years, an extremely amiable, polite, sympathetic man, very gentle and very discreet ..." reacts Michel Bourcier.
Serving as an altar, the man sometimes lent a helping hand to the rector of the cathedral, Father Hubert Champenois, for celebrations, or to clean up and put the building in order. "I have confidence in him as in all the collaborators", comments this one. "It's a place he adores," abounded with Figaro Jean-Charles Nowak, cathedral clerk, who does not "believe" in his involvement.
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"At this stage, nothing directly links my client to the fire," said Quentin Chabert, the lawyer who assisted the volunteer in police custody, earlier today, also calling to "put the facts into perspective" , which caused a great stir in Nantes and in the Catholic community.
VIDEO. Fire at Nantes cathedral: 3 fire starts identified, organ destroyed
An electrical box would be linked to the start of the fire
The man, "very pious and very involved", according to a member of the parish, experienced some personal difficulties. "He had weaknesses related to his migratory journey and lived with difficulty the fact of not being able to obtain his regularization", continues this source. In delicacy with the prefecture after the non-renewal of his visa, he would be subject to an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF). "Health concerns in recent months have also prevented him from being able to find a job, that made a lot of disappointments ..."
Even before the volunteer was released, there was nothing to exclude the accidental thesis, in particular that of a malfunction of the electrical installation. On each of the three "fire points" identified is an electrical box, and according to our information, one of them is linked to a fire. No trace of hydrocarbons, which would sign a voluntary gesture, was found. But the findings are still in their infancy: this Sunday, the forensic science had not yet been able to access the platform supporting the large organ, one of the fire starts and therefore one of the keys to the 'enigma.
