• Five months after the collapse of the buildings on rue Pierre Mauroy in Lille, experts are still looking for the causes of this accident.
  • Using remote-controlled cameras, the experts found that the neighboring buildings had not moved, ruling out the hypothesis of an accident from the basement.
  • A specialist in Lille buildings does not hesitate to confirm that, during the renovation work, "a human stupidity was made at one time or another".

On November 12, two buildings, located rue Pierre Mauroy, in Lille, collapsed causing the death of one person. This drama now echoes the one that took place in Marseille, on the night of Saturday to Sunday. Except that the reasons for the disaster are certainly very different.

Indeed, when the hypothesis of a gas explosion remains privileged in Marseille, in Lille, the gas has never been questioned. Five months later, experts are beginning to put forward a new assumption: "human nonsense", as highlighted by an investigation by Médiacités.

Built on chalk

Since the tragedy, theories of a failure of the basement are often advanced, evoking the construction of buildings on stilts. However, in the rue Pierre Mauroy, the buildings are built on chalk, a particularly stable material. These are the buildings of Old Lille that are built on stilts.

How to explain these possible human causes? While an excavator removes the rubble, rue Pierre Mauroy, two judicial experts, mandated by the prosecutor's office, still inspect the premises. Using remote-controlled cameras, the professionals found that the neighboring buildings had not moved. Proof that soil does not seem to be the problem.

None of the experts takes the risk of definitively ruling out the thesis of a destructive basement. Nevertheless, the head of a construction technical control body in Hauts-de-France believes that it is rather the modification of buildings that has weakened the buildings.

Judicial expert report expected in June

According to several other specialists interviewed by the investigation site, the renovations of Lille buildings could, a priori, cause these collapses. A specialist in Lille buildings does not hesitate to affirm that "a human stupidity has been made at one time or another".

"It is unfortunately common to see residents doing work to remove distracting walls or posts without worrying about their function in the stability of the building," says an engineer from Adiss, an office specializing in structural investigation.

As early as November 12, the prosecutor's office had launched an investigation for "endangering the lives of others" and for "manslaughter". In this context, a judicial expert report is expected in June.

  • Hauts-de-France
  • Lille
  • Building
  • Collapse
  • Collapsed buildings in Marseille