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Photos: damage caused by riots at Limoges mairie in central France
Man suspected of being involved in the fire has been arrested
Published
Images taken from inside the town hall in Limoges show the aftermath of a fire lit during riots on the night of October 17.
Masked individuals broke into the 19th-Century town hall and set it alight, causing extensive damage.
The blaze was brought under control on Sunday morning.
There were no casualties, but the listed historic building suffered considerable damage with part of the roof and bell tower collapsing.
The prefect of Haute-Vienne, Maurice Barate, said the fire had been started deliberately.
“They began by setting fire to the east wing in the basement and on the ground floor. They then, very certainly, went upstairs and set fire to the upper floors, after which they threatened to kill two staff members who were inside… They deliberately started the fire even though they knew there were elected representatives, staff, members of the public and security personnel present,” said Mr Barate.
Suspect arrested
A man suspected of being involved in the fire was arrested at 6:15 this morning (October 20) in Val d'Issoire (Haute-Vienne), the Limoges public prosecutor told Franceinfo.
Reports also state that the suspect is a 40-year-old far-left activist from the Creuse department.
He is known for acts of violence against a person in public authority and is already on the fiche S (S list) - a watchlist relating to state security. The 'S' stands for sûreté d’Etat (state safety), with the list used for information gathering. It cannot be used alone to order an arrest.
The anti-terrorism sub-directorate (sous-direction antiterroriste) is handling the case jointly with the Haute-Vienne police.
Riots followed peaceful demonstrations
More than half a million people were said to have participated in largely peaceful demonstrations across France earlier that day (October 17).
The protests, initially organised around rising living costs and fuel prices together with deteriorating public services, brought together students, trade unions, former gilets jaunes protesters and other groups.
Widespread riots and looting followed the demonstrations this weekend, with over 2,000 people being arrested and almost 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were reported injured, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
A second series of demonstrations across France is being planned for this coming Saturday (October 24).
