Monday, a minor was arrested as part of the investigation opened after the fire that partially damaged the facade of the high school Raymond-Queneau, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, in the North, learned 20 Minutes from the Lille prosecutor's office.

Lycée Raymond Queneau in Villeneuve d'Ascq (59) was set on fire ... 😬 pic.twitter.com/ei9q7a03oM

— Pauline 🇫🇷 (@Pauline06272023) March 27, 2023

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This school is regularly affected by blockades organized by high school students, mobilized against the pension reform. But on Monday morning, before classes began, several individuals deliberately set fire to "shopping carts, pallets and mattresses" forming a barricade in front of the entrance to the school. The flames had time to seriously degrade the façade before the intervention of firefighters.

A sentence of 10 years' imprisonment

While the intentional nature of the fire was not in doubt, the Lille prosecutor's office immediately opened an investigation into the charge of "damage by fire or dangerous means". The investigations quickly identified one of the accused, a "high school student, aged 15 and a half," says the prosecutor's office, adding that he was arrested and placed in custody.



The prosecutor's office stresses that for these facts, "the penalty incurred is 10 years imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros", but that the bill can be much higher if a person were to be injured with an ITT of 8 days or more. From a misdemeanor, it would be a felony, with a sentence of 15 years' imprisonment, 20 years if the acts were committed by an organized gang and even a life sentence if the fire causes the death of a person.

  • Miscellaneous facts
  • Lille
  • Hauts-de-France
  • Fire
  • Pension reform 2023
  • High school
  • Block