The manager of a music festival and two technicians appeared before the Cahors court on Thursday for manslaughter in the case of the death of singer Barbara Weldens, electrocuted during a concert in the Lot in 2017. The French singer , 35, died on stage while performing barefoot on a stormy evening on July 19, 2017, in the Cordeliers church in Gourdon, during the Léo-Ferré festival.
The artist, who was six months pregnant, had collapsed in front of the spectators.
The association organizing the festival, Les Amis de la Butte, as well as those responsible for the sound and lighting were implicated during the investigation, which revealed "
electrical malfunctions
".
A cable connected to the microphone, of which a weld "
was badly done ", and a "
stale
" projector
are at the origin of the accident, said Thursday the president of the court, basing himself on two expertises.
Read alsoSinger Barbara Weldens dies suddenly in the middle of a concert
The lighting equipment was "
obsolete
" and connected to an unsuitable electrical device.
“
These are combined faults which led to the electrocution
”, summarized the deputy prosecutor, Morgane Raffy, who requested against the person in charge of the lighting 24 months of imprisonment, including 18 suspended, and a permanent ban on practicing the profession.
A twelve-month suspended sentence was requested against the person in charge of the sound system.
The prosecution, which accuses the association of having hired technicians without having checked their "
professional qualification
" and of not having examined the "
electrical installations, even temporary
", requested a fine of 20,000 euros against the Friends of the Butte.
If all the standards had been met in this file, no one would be here.
What is at stake in these standards is life
Morgane Raffy, deputy prosecutor
This case “
demonstrates the reason for the existence of standards
”, underlined the representative of the prosecution, adding that “
if all the standards had been respected in this case, no one would be here.
What is at stake in these standards is life
”.
The lighting manager had no electrical training, but had been in the field for thirty years.
According to his lawyer Thierry Carrère, who pleaded for release, he "
was not aware of exposing others to any danger whatsoever
" and the town hall of Gourdon, which hosted the concert, should have had a dedicated electrician.
During the hearing, Denis Boucharinc, lawyer for the singer's relatives, expressed their wish to
"not overwhelm anyone"
and only sent requests for compensation.
The singer had been revealed in 2016 by the Young Talents competition of the Jacques-Brel music festival in Vesoul (Haute-Saône), and had released her first studio album in 2017, entitled
Le grand H de l'homme
.
Judgment was reserved for February 16.