The Colmar court on Monday sentenced three men to sentences ranging from 12 months suspended prison sentence to 36 months firm, for theft of equipment in ski resorts in the Vosges mountains.
The three defendants, aged 22 to 24, were arrested on Wednesday and returned for immediate appearance for burglary and in a meeting.
The criminal court accused them of a total of 18 acts of theft committed in particular in the ski resorts of Markstein and Lac Blanc (Haut-Rhin), La Bresse and Gérardmer (Vosges), between mid-August and October 26, for total damage assessed at 200,000 euros.
45 seasonal jobs could be impacted
"So much equipment and tools have disappeared, or are now out of order, that the snow cannons and the brand new computer ticket office, for example, no longer work
," lamented the lawyer for the station's joint union. of the Markstein, Me Marie Kochersperger.
“The staff are doing everything possible to ensure that the station can open, but to date nothing is certain, the 45 seasonal jobs could be impacted”.
The defendants explained their action by their desire to renovate the Altenberg, a treatment center now abandoned, a former high place of tourism in the Vosges, which had hosted in its time the former President of the Republic Raymond Poincaré, or German Emperor Wilhelm II.
“The idea of renovation was as far-fetched as it was illusory, but the thefts were well organized,”
insisted the prosecutor, Laure-Alexandra Mairot.
She requested three years in prison against the two main defendants, and one year against their accomplice, to whom 4 of the 18 acts of theft were accused.
The court finally pronounced sentences of 36 and 30 months in prison, and 12 months suspended probation.