A 36-year-old man, with a long criminal record, is to be tried on Monday January 17 before the Boulogne-sur-Mer criminal court for the burning of four churches in Pas-de-Calais, reports France Bleu.
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According to a source close to the case at AFP, the defendant had been arrested "
in flagrante delicto
", when he caused a fire at the presbytery of the church of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul, in the town of Portel. , last November. Nineteen firefighters had been mobilized to put out the flames. The authorities very quickly made the connection with three other fires that affected churches in the same area in October and November. "
The
damage
[was] being assessed,"
said the Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor's office at the time. For its part,
La Voix du Nord
indicates that up to six churches have been targeted, some by damage or arson attempts.
In police custody, the suspect had admitted the facts, explaining that he had acted
"in the context of a resentment against the men of the Church"
, but not "
in a political approach
".
He had been remanded in custody pending a psychiatric assessment.
The person concerned has "
25 mentions
" in his criminal record, in particular for acts of "
theft
" but also for "
equivalent acts
".
