France Arrests Suspect Over Fire That Gutted Historic Limoges Town Hall

French national police on Tuesday arrested a man suspected of arson in the fire that severely damaged the historic Limoges town hall at the weekend, UPI reported, as reports described the building as largely lost.

The fire broke out on the evening of October 17 at the end of a march against the high cost of living in the central French city, which authorities said drew about 5,000 people. Witnesses said masked individuals set a municipal police car on fire outside the town hall, broke windows and went inside to start a blaze. Video showed the roof burning and the bell tower collapsing.

Limoges fire

Maurice Barate, the prefect of Haute-Vienne, called the fire a deliberate attack and a catastrophe for heritage. The neo-Renaissance building was inaugurated in 1883, was inspired by Paris’s city hall and has been listed as a historic monument since 1975. By Sunday the fire was contained. AFP reported that four national police cars and two municipal ones were burned or heavily damaged in the unrest in the city.

Limoges Mayor Guillaume Guérin, of the centre-right Republicans, said national police lacked the resources to contain the crowd and demanded major state funding to rebuild, comparing it to the plan for Notre-Dame. He and other politicians blamed the hard-left France Unbowed party for the chaos. Party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has rejected similar accusations over the wider unrest in France. Thousands marched in Limoges on Sunday evening after the fire.

Officials have stressed the difference between peaceful demonstrators and those accused of arson and looting. Police have not publicly said how the arrested man is connected to the fire, and he is presumed innocent unless convicted.

Sources: UPI; International Business Times; AFP via Sud Radio; Dezeen.

Photo: Times Now/YouTube

#latestmalaysia