A man was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison, including six months closed, by the court of Mende (Lozère) for having caused about thirty forest fires and fires in the Cévennes that he wanted "to clean up with fire. ".
Between 2018 and 2020, the 20-year-old defendant set fire to wooded areas, waste containers and a vehicle.
If he did not stay on site to observe the result, he however studied the report in the local press, according to the investigation by the gendarmes of the Mende search brigade mentioned at the hearing.
Excluding ecological damage, these fires destroyed property for more than 66,000 euros, while the costs of interventions by firefighters amounted to 27,900 euros.
Prosecutor Vincent Blériot underlined the heavy consequences in terms of the destruction of flora and fauna, pointing in particular to the destruction in February 2020 of 50 hectares of a 3rd generation Mediterranean forest, "a real little ecological treasure", in the midst of heart of the Cévennes National Park.
He "gives in to irrepressible impulses"
The young man, who recognizes the facts but refuses the qualifier of "arsonist", explained at the bar to have "given in to irrepressible impulses", evoking an "inability to control oneself by seeing vegetation".
He also alluded to the severity of a grandfather who constantly forced him to clean, which would have prompted him to have a need to "clean" with fire.
Read alsoFires in the South: "Arsonists are potential repeat offenders"
According to the expert psychiatrist who examined him, it is about a "psychic or neurological disorder having altered his discernment".
The prosecutor, while acknowledging this deterioration of discernment, stressed that this had nevertheless not prevented him from preparing his acts by taking matches and cans of gasoline.
The magistrates followed the requisitions of the prosecution and sentenced him to two years' imprisonment, including six months, which he had already served during his pre-trial detention after his arrest in April 2020. They matched this sanction with a measure of five years of socio-judicial follow-up with obligation of care.
