A few minutes after the transition to the new year, on the night of Saturday to Sunday, firefighters are called to intervene in the town of Mortagne-sur-Sèvre (Vendée).
A house of around 100m2, according to information from
Ouest-France
, is totally on fire.
According to the detailed account in the court of La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée), - which judged, this Monday, January 2, a 48-year-old man for arson -, the couple who lived in this house had already swallowed a good amount of alcohol at midday on December 31.
All without eating.
It was then that, at the end of the evening, a violent argument broke out within the couple.
The woman then threatens to call the gendarmes so that her companion leaves the home of which she is the tenant.
The latter raises his voice and becomes threatening:
“I will do something to get them to come”.
He goes to the garage to get a can of gas, comes back to the living room and sets it on fire.
The flames progress so quickly that the couple barely has time to get out.
21 firefighters are mobilized: it will be necessary to wait until 5 am, on January 1, for the fire to be brought under control.
The house, estimated at 200,000 euros, is completely burnt out.
Read alsoNew Year: more arrests and fewer burned cars
In court on Monday, the man in question, who was not known to the courts, acknowledged his gesture and apologized flatly.
While the prosecution had requested a four-year prison sentence, including one year suspended on probation, the court did not go that far and sentenced the man to 18 months in prison, nine of which were suspended on probation for three years, without a warrant. deposit.