A 28-year-old Algerian national under a French deportation order is accused of burglarizing at least five homes evacuated during devastating wildfires in Gironde, with prosecutors citing surveillance footage, DNA evidence and phone geolocation data.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A 28-year-old Algerian migrant who was already subject to a French deportation order has been accused of taking part in a series of burglaries targeting homes evacuated during major wildfires in southwestern France.
The alleged crimes occurred in the commune of Cestas in the Gironde region, where residents were forced to leave their homes as fires swept through the area.
The wildfires have burned more than 104,000 acres over the summer and have been described as among the most significant to strike southwestern France since World War II.
While hundreds of thousands of residents faced disruption from the fires, some evacuees returned home to discover their properties had also been burglarized, according to local newspaper Sud Ouest.
Among those accused is the Algerian national, who allegedly entered at least five evacuated homes.
He was already subject to an OQTF, or “Obligation de Quitter le Territoire Français,” an order requiring him to leave French territory.
The man had also previously been convicted of four crimes in France.
Investigators linked him to the burglaries through several forms of evidence.
Security camera footage allegedly placed him at the scene, while DNA evidence confirmed his presence inside at least some of the five homes. Investigators also relied on geolocation data from his cellphone to corroborate his movements.
The defendant has denied personally carrying out the burglaries, claiming instead that he acted only as a lookout for an accomplice who has not yet been arrested.
One of the alleged victims, a great-grandmother from Cestas, described returning home after the evacuation to find extensive damage.
“We returned on July 29th and found our house ransacked, with everything on the floor,” she told the Bordeaux criminal court last week.
She said the intruders had gone through the house, consumed drinks and stolen jewelry.
“It’s a bit like we were raped. They each poured a beer from the fridge and left them in the bedrooms. And then they took jewellery. Some of it was [lost] during a previous burglary in Paris. This time, I lost everything.”
The woman also reflected on the circumstances that may have driven the alleged burglars.
“They are cowards. They are poor wretches. What would they have said if we had done this to their mother? They took advantage of our misfortune. Perhaps if I had been in their place, I would have done the same. When you are in a desperate situation and without money, you have to eat.”
Proceedings against the Algerian national are expected to resume in October.
He will remain incarcerated in the meantime because he still has two additional prison sentences to serve for earlier offenses.
The case has also renewed attention on France’s handling of migrants who have been issued OQTF deportation orders but remain in the country.
France removes fewer than one in 10 migrant criminals subject to such deportation measures each year.
Public frustration with the system has been substantial.
A survey conducted last year found that 86% of French voters believed migrants with OQTF orders should be detained until they are deported rather than allowed to remain free while awaiting removal.
Under the current system, some migrants facing deportation are permitted to remain outside detention until authorities carry out the order.
The Gironde case has brought renewed scrutiny to that policy because the defendant accused of burglarizing evacuated homes was already under a formal order to leave France and had multiple prior convictions before the latest alleged offenses occurred.
Original article
Comments