This place of life and meeting almost went up in smoke.
The social center in the Gassicourt district was set on fire overnight from Friday to Saturday in Mantes-la-Jolie (Yvelines).
Little damage is to be deplored thanks to the alarm system which was triggered and allowed neighborhood leaders to contain the flames before the arrival of the firefighters.
It is 11:25 p.m. in the rue des Garennes when the intrusion alarm sounds at the social center and in the premises of the municipal police.
One or more suspects have just entered a room at the rear of the building.
The premises serve as a gym.
They contain games for children and fitness equipment.
The intruders cut through the glass of a French window before setting fire to a curtain and a box of Kappla cubes which were in a cupboard.
A precedent a year earlier…
According to initial findings, they used a flammable product to accelerate combustion.
Three animators from the city arrived on the scene before the emergency services.
They used fire extinguishers to contain the flames.
Then they were relayed by the firefighters who put an end to the disaster.
“Only traces of soot and slight damage are to be deplored, specifies a source close to the case.
Two city employees were taken to hospital for a check-up after inhaling smoke.
The police discovered that the arsonist(s) first tried to force open a window in the front of the building.
But she was too tough.
Last year, the Aimé-Césaire social center, located rue Boileau had already been burned in the same way but the investigation had not made it possible to get hold of the perpetrator(s).
Officials from the departmental security of Yvelines are responsible for conducting the investigations.
There has been no recent conflict with the municipal team that animates the premises.
But the shadow of the conflicts between the old and the new municipality is in everyone's mind.