Sentences of up to one year in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros were requested Thursday, October 15 by the prosecution at the trial of the fatal collapse of the stage scheduled for a Madonna concert in 2009 in Marseille.
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Denouncing "
an accumulation of serious faults
" on a site which looked more like "
the setting up of a circus in a village square than that of the stage of a world tour
", the two prosecutors requested penalties which had a meaning “
for both defendants and victims
”.
Two people died on the day of the tragedy, July 16, 2009, on the lawn of the velodrome stadium, and eight workers were injured and marked for life.
The heaviest sentence was required against Tim Norman, the boss of ESG, the English company that owns the scene and is responsible for its editing, with two years in prison including one year suspended and 40,000 euros fine.
Against the two other executives of ESG in question, Stephen Richards, the director of operations, and Jeffrey Burke, in charge of the department of the scenes, Jean-Yves Lourgouilloux and Michel Sastre required two years of suspended sentence and 10,000 euros of fine .
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With Tim Norman, it was Jacqueline Bitton, alias Jackie Lombard, then president of Live Nation France, the French subsidiary of the American giant of the organization of concerts, who received the heaviest requisition, with a two-year sentence of prison including 18 months suspended sentence, 30,000 euros fine and two years ban from exercising his profession.
Against Mathieu Anton, manager of Tours Concept France, the company responsible for assisting ESG for the assembly of the scene and for which nine of the ten victims worked, the prosecutors requested two years in prison, a 25,000 euros fine and a ban on practice for two years.
For the team leader, the Briton Scott Seaton, recruited for this site by ESG, the requested sentence is 18 months suspended and 5,000 euros fine.
Against Gérard Billia finally, manager of the Marseille company Mediaco, one of the cranes of which was involved in the accident, the required penalty is 10 months suspended prison sentence and 4,000 euros fine.
Regarding the three companies in the dock, Live Nation France, Tours Concept France and Mediaco, the fines required are respectively 150,000 euros, 70,000 euros and 30,000 euros.
