This Tuesday, July 6, the departmental union CGT of Paris, the Henri Pézerat association and two families of residents will file a complaint against X for "
endangering the lives of others
", reports France Inter.
In the viewfinder of the complainants, the lead pollution caused according to them by the fire of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019. The three parties are based in particular on a report from the Labor Inspectorate, which pointed out to point out the dysfunctions in terms of the protection of employees of the cathedral construction site.
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"
on France 2
Based on these documents, the complaint estimates that more than 400 tonnes of lead melted and were sprayed into the air as a result of the flames.
With fallout "as
far as Mantes-la-Jolie, nearly fifty kilometers from the source,
" according to a simulation carried out in November 2019 by the National Institute for the Industrial Environment.
Dysfunctions pointed out very early on
The plaintiffs' lawyer, Me François Lafforgue, considers that no sufficient measure has been taken to protect the health of the inhabitants as well as that of the people working on the site in the three months which followed the fire, such as the indicates the complaint consulted by France Inter. In fact, the report of the Labor Inspectorate, revealed by Mediapart in August 2019, underlined that "
the shower of the decontamination unit is not working
", that "
the three decontamination units installed on the forecourt, in the middle of the polluted area, do not allow effective decontamination of the employees
”and considered that the situation was“
dangerous
”for the workers.
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Worse still, the Labor Inspectorate had warned the following month the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) that the workers were "
not equipped with respiratory masks to protect them from the risk of inhaling lead dust
" that they “
export
” lead pollution on their way home.
Finally, the regional prefect Michel Cadot had decided to suspend the site on July 18, 2019.
ARS "withholding of information"
The complaint also criticizes the fact that the City of Paris has "
refrained from alerting parents of students to the risks run by their children
" and denounces "
real withholding of information by the Regional Health Agency
".
As a reminder, lead poisoning can cause many complications, including psychomotor disorders, serious neurological disorders, and can even cause long-term kidney cancer.
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In July 2019, the Robin des Bois association had already lodged a complaint against X because of lead pollution. A complaint closed without follow-up in December 2020. She then reoffended on April 8, for "
endangering the life of others
", with constitution of civil party, which allows the appointment of an investigating judge.