Three years, less a day: this is the time it took for the victims of the explosion in the rue de Trévise, in Paris, to obtain an agreement in principle of compensation, in particular by the City of Paris, under consideration in this case and which will provide it to the tune of 20 million.
“All stakeholders have validated the drafting of the framework agreement for compensation for victims,” announced Tuesday morning the City, which is convening an extraordinary Paris Council on January 17 in order to submit it to its elected officials, the last step before the signature.
A “relief”, for Delphine Bürkli, mayor (DVD) of the 9th arrondissement touched in her heart, on the morning of January 12, 2019, by a very strong detonation caused by a gas leak. The toll is heavy: 4 dead, 66 injured and around 400 affected residents.
Monday evening, just before the third anniversary of the tragedy, a last mediation meeting – imposed by justice – led to this “recognition of the exceptional nature of the explosion”, said Emmanuel Grégoire, first deputy (PS) of the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, to AFP.
Three months have passed since he announced at the beginning of October that the City would fund 20 million euros, a “first step”, the compensation fund “without presuming his guilt”.
While the investigating judges have just completed their investigations, this fund should make it possible to take charge of all bodily injury and material damage pending the criminal trial.
– Expected “for years” –
Gathered in a cafe facing 6, rue de Trévise, a damaged building in front of which the explosion occurred, the representatives of the victims’ associations welcomed an “agreement in principle” awaited “for weeks, even years”, underlined Linda Zaourar, president of Vret (Victims and survivors of the explosion in the rue de Trévise).
The 20 million euros promised by the town hall must “in no case be a ceiling”, insisted Sophia Seco, general manager of Fenvac (National Federation of Victims of Attacks and Collective Accidents), while the estimate of the total damage reached, according to the victims, 200 million euros and that the amounts that will be paid by insurers remain unknown.
This agreement should make it possible to cover “extra-legal costs” linked to bodily injuries not covered by health insurance and mutuals, explained Linda Zaourar, for whom “orphans will have priority status with the seriously injured and the bereaved “.
N.6 and adjoining buildings are still awaiting rehabilitation work, which should begin in September, compensation will also allow owners to pay “a lot of things not covered by insurance”, hopes Vanessa Mallet , general secretary of the Treviso Ensemble association, which deplores the impossibility of selling as is.
The City, indicted in the criminal section of this case, had for months been under pressure from associations which accused it of “playing for time”, while the contribution of the other parties involved, in particular the property manager also put under review and the GRDF gas distributor, remains confidential.
“The solutions were there from the start”, affirms Sophia Seco for whom the mediation “brought the parties face to face with their responsibilities”.
– Anne Hidalgo presents Wednesday –
“Concurring analyzes ruled out that a community could participate in a compensation fund without legislative authorization,” defends the City for whom Anne Hidalgo, expected Wednesday for the commemoration, “has always expressed her willingness to participate by any means in the ‘compensation for victims’.
These now await the ratification of the agreement, and especially the actual transactions, after examination of the compensation claims by the two coordinators appointed by Matignon. Once the amount has been recorded, the City has undertaken to pay the sums within a maximum of two months.
“We will be extremely vigilant” so that compensation “can be granted and granted as quickly as possible”, assured Delphine Bürkli by showing a district “still crippled”.