(ANSA) - PARIS, APRIL 12 - A French magistrate has been appointed to investigate the hypothesis of the crime of endangering the lives of others, after a complaint about lead emissions in the air in the fire of April 15, 2019 at the Notre-Dame cathedral de Paris.
The complaint, specified judicial sources cited by France Presse, was filed in June by an association for the defense of health, the CGT trade union, and the parents of some children enrolled in the neighborhood schools.
In the fire, the 400 tons of lead contained in the roof and in the central spire - nineteenth century, designed by Viollet-le-Duc - of Notre-Dame went up in smoke, equivalent to "about 4 times the annual emissions of lead into the atmosphere of the whole of France" , according to the plaintiffs.
At the time, the risks associated with air pollution were quickly discarded but inhabitants and associations raised the alarm about the fallout of lead particles on the ground, which can enter homes and be ingested by children.
"Despite the extent of the fire and knowledge of the risks of pollution and contamination, no precautions were taken by the competent authorities in the three months following the fire", endangering "children (in kindergartens and schools), the inhabitants of the area and workers (from the neighborhood and from the cathedral)," the plaintiffs write.
According to the latter, the regional health agency (Ars), the police, the municipality of Paris, but also the Ministry of Culture should have taken more drastic measures.
"We ask for rapid investigations to identify responsibility for the contamination of school children or living near Notre-Dame as well as for the massive exposure of the workers present on the site", declares the lawyer, François Lafforgue, saying he is "satisfied" with the opening of the file.
The reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris is scheduled for 2024, ideally on December 8 Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
(HANDLE).
