Several electrical transformers were set on fire near arms companies in Bourges (Cher) on the night of April 6 to 7. The ultra-left claimed responsibility for this action in an anti-militarist text, as reported by BFMTV. Seeing these events as a “violation of the nation’s fundamental interests,” the Paris prosecutor’s office has taken over the investigation.
Were arms companies targeted by a group of ultra-leftists? During the night of April 6 to 7, a series of criminal fires affected electrical installations in Bourges (Cher) and a neighboring town, Chapelle-Saint-Ursin. These coordinated and particularly serious arson attacks, denounced by the Cher prefecture, took place near companies supplying the French army.
An anti-militarist tag was painted on a wall. The next day, on April 8, an ultra-left group claimed an act of “sabotage,” citing a struggle against “war makers,” according to a text published on an anarchist site and seen by BFMTV.
The Bourges prosecutor’s office eventually handed over the case to the Paris prosecutor’s office. On April 11, the Paris prosecutor’s office announced that it had taken over the investigation, viewing these fires as an “attack on the nation’s fundamental interests.”
“The nature of the sites raises concerns that the fires could disrupt the operation of these companies and constitute a violation of the nation’s fundamental interests,” explained the Paris prosecutor’s office. The investigation has been entrusted to the anti-terrorist sub-directorate (SDAT) and the national judicial police directorate (DNPJ).
A site deemed “sensitive”
According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, around 4 a.m. on April 7, police officers observed “two fires at two transformers located about twenty meters apart in the town of La Chapelle-Saint-Ursin.”
“The site was classified as sensitive, as the transformers mainly supplied companies KNDS and MBDA (companies supplying the armed forces). A message in black paint saying “actions against war” was left on a wall,” the prosecutor’s office added.
At 4:55 a.m., “police officers were called to a fire at an electrical pylon in the commercial area of Saint-Doulchard.” “A fence had been cut and cables burned,” noted the prosecutor’s office.
Around twenty firefighters were called to extinguish the fire. The damage is estimated to be several million euros, according to the prefecture. Nearly 3,000 households had their electricity cut off for several hours.
The next day, a claiming message was published on Indymedia, a platform where anarchist political groups usually claim their arson acts.
“The race for military power”
“On the night of April 6 to 7, we sabotaged the electrical network supplying the ‘bastion of national land defense’ in Bourges and its surroundings,” raged the authors of this antimilitarist and anti-imperialist prose. They denounce “war” and “the race for military power.” “This crappy country is still the second largest exporter of death technologies in the world,” they wrote.
As a historical bastion of national defense, the city of Bourges is home to dozens of companies linked to the military industry. This is precisely what the presumed arsonists denounce in their claiming text: they oppose the French missile manufacturer MBDA, the producers of anti-aircraft systems Aster and Mistral, the anti-tank company Akeron, and a weapons testing center of the Ministry of Defense.
“Opposing war makers is always possible and absolutely necessary,” the authors continued, calling for “insubordination” and “sabotage.” No suspects have been arrested yet.
Contacted by BFM Business, the company KNDS stated that “adequate security measures have been implemented” and that “production has not been affected.”
