Trial begins for Marseille building collapse case

The appeal trial for the 2018 collapse of two buildings on Aubagne Street in Marseille, which killed eight residents, will begin on Monday. The trial is expected to last until December 18 and will take place in a courtroom designated for "out-of-the-ordinary" cases, which are typically reserved for complex or high-profile legal matters.

Civil parties seek exemplary sentences

Nearly 90 civil parties will be represented against fifteen defendants in the trial. The loved ones of the eight residents who died are seeking exemplary sentences for those they believe are responsible for the accident, emphasizing the severity of the tragedy and the need for accountability.

Buildings collapsed due to ignored warnings

On November 5, 2018, at 09:07, the buildings at numbers 63 and 65 on Aubagne Street collapsed within seconds after several warning signals were insufficiently addressed. The victims, five men and three women aged between 30 and 58, were remembered by several hundred people who gathered near the site of the incident on Sunday.

Previous convictions met with disappointment

Following the autumn 2024 trial, the court imposed ten convictions, including three with prison sentences, six acquittals, and a fine of 358,000 euros. The judgment was less severe than the prosecution's requests, leading to "disappointment" from Kevin Vacher, spokesperson for the November 5 collective. The light severity of the sentences was described as a "disappointment."

Main defendants receive probation

The two main defendants, expert-architect Richard Carta and former deputy mayor Julien Ruas, were sentenced to two years in prison with probation and prohibited from practicing their professions. Erick Campana, the lawyer for Ruas, stated that "the alleged offenses are unintentional and we have shown that no fault had been committed in light of the information that had been reported."

Prosecution seeks review of co-owner convictions

The prosecution has requested a new review of the convictions of the co-owners, including Xavier Cachard and Gilbert Ardilly. Both had been sentenced to four years in prison, two of which were to be served under electronic monitoring. The judgment noted their "indifference" toward the deplorable condition of the housing they rented and "a strategy of obstructing the necessary work" in the building.

Trial highlights systemic neglect

The trial established that the collapses were inevitable given the state of the buildings, but no evacuation of the tenants had been decided, and the work carried out had proven ineffective or counterproductive. The prosecution has also appealed the convictions of the syndic of number 65 and his former manager, as well as contesting the acquittals given to the social landlord Marseille Habitat, its former general director, and three co-owners of 65 Aubagne Street.

Mayor calls for exemplary justice

Mayor Benoît Payan stated that "deplorable housing kills, breaks too many lives: it must never remain unpunished" and added that "justice must be exemplary and make visible to all the reality of the tragedy that is deplorable housing in our city and elsewhere." The trial had shed a harsh light on the inaction of the previous municipal majority against deplorable housing in a city led for 25 years by mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin of the LR party, whose party lost the city hall two years after the incident.

Persistent issue of poor housing in Marseille

Poor housing remains massive in Marseille, which has nearly 40,000 slums, with the left-wing majority claiming to have removed 1,000 buildings from danger. The tragedy has highlighted the ongoing challenges of addressing unsafe housing and the need for systemic change in the city.