Destruction of protected turtles on a construction site in Corsica: fines reduced on appeal

In a personal capacity, he was sentenced in Bastia to a fine of 50.000 euros and his company Fortimmo, also prosecuted for unauthorised interference with the conservation of the natural habitat of a protected species, was sentenced to a fine of 150.000 euros.

In the first instance in January 2023, a six-month suspended prison sentence and 150.000 euros were imposed by the Ajaccio court against the contractor for the unauthorized mutilation and destruction of a protected animal species, the alteration and destruction of their habitat, between December 2019 and March 2020 on a construction site of 162 housing units in Grosseto-Pugna, south of the Gulf of Ajaccio. A fine of 500.000 euros was imposed on the company.

Mr Rocca and his company are also jointly and severally ordered to pay the State 200.000 euros in damages, compared to 500.000 euros awarded at first instance, and 20.000 euros to the environmental protection association U Levante, which had obtained 30.000 euros at first instance.

In total, the fines and damages are reduced from 1,2 million euros to 420.000 euros.

Recalling that Hermann tortoises have been present in Corsica "for 1,8 million years" and practically more than on the island with a few specimens in the Var, the attorney general had asked the court, during the hearing in June, to "confirm the guilt" of Patrick Rocca and his company and to maintain the sentences handed down at first instance.

The Hermann's tortoise is classified as vulnerable on the national red list of threatened species and protected at international, European and French level.

"I am before you to try to demonstrate my good faith," Patrick Rocca assured the court.

"I did not fail," insisted the entrepreneur, who specified that his group was worth around 600 million euros, that it included 127 companies, 126 of which were in Corsica, and employed 2.400 employees, making it one of the largest employers on the island.

The three defense lawyers, Philippe Gatti, Jean-Marc Fevrier and Alexandre Plantevin, had argued that there were nullities that justified, according to them, the cancellation of the procedure. They then pleaded for acquittal, arguing that "no criminal fault" could be attributed to their client.