The city of Marseille votes for the legal protection of a former deputy indicted after the collapse of two buildings

Two associations including the Collective of November 5 created after the tragedy had denounced before the session "the indecency" of the request of this former assistant in charge of risk management who asked to be able to benefit from the functional protection granted by law to elected officials prosecuted for acts related to the exercise of their function. The associations deplore in a press release that Mr. Ruas "makes the Marseillais bear the cost of his lawyers".

This protection includes the payment by the city of legal costs, but not of a possible conviction.

The vote was the occasion for a debate in the municipal hemicycle which had elected a few hours earlier the new mayor of Marseille, the socialist Benoît Payan after the resignation of his ally Michèle Rubirola.

"It should be remembered that there is no question here of public money, enrichment, embezzlement or financing (...) it is the death of eight people and it is a completely different matter ", underlined Patrick Amico, assistant to the housing of the left majority, pointing out" the responsibility of the old municipality "of right in the tragedy. And, "it is for these reasons that we (...) will remain in a silent abstention in respect of the memory of these eight victims", he explained.

"Functional protection (...) is a right provided for by law. It is neither a favor nor an undue advantage," replied Yves Moraine on behalf of the LR group.

"On November 5, Marseille lost eight of its children. Here, on December 21 two years later, there is no one's trial, no one's exegesis, there is simply respect for the law", replied Mayor Benoît Payan. He justified the abstention defended by Mr. Amico by the "astonishment" of elected officials after the tragedy. "You know how the minds have been troubled, damaged, families, associations, collectives, sometimes jostled," he added.

"We will not prevent a man from being defended but our actions this morning will make that, for the city of Marseille and in memory of what happened, we will simply take a step aside", he said Explain.