A Tunisian man has been jailed for 12 months and banned from France for five years after deliberately starting a fire near a Lidl supermarket that had refused him entry because he was drunk.
The 39-year-old, who was legally resident in the country, was convicted by the Toulon criminal court on Wednesday over the fire in Ollioules, in the Var region.
According to the Toulon prosecutor’s office cited by CNews, the man started the blaze beside a road shortly after being refused entry to the supermarket by a security guard because he was drunk.
He was arrested by police officers on July 25 and held at Toulon police station before being placed in pretrial detention.
The defendant claimed the fire was accidental, telling investigators that his lighter had “jammed” while he was attempting to light a cigarette, an explanation the court rejected.
Police officers and two fire engines quickly brought the blaze under control. Around 40 square meters of vegetation were destroyed, while an EDF electricity line was also damaged.
The man had three previous convictions for unrelated offenses. A psychiatrist who examined him found no impairment of judgment and he was therefore deemed criminally responsible.
The case comes as French authorities adopt a tougher approach to suspected arson during periods of extreme heat and elevated wildfire risk.
Two other people were arrested on Tuesday over separate fires in Nanterre and Grenoble.
In Nanterre, a suspect allegedly used a lighter to ignite a bush in André Malraux Park, burning approximately 2,000 square meters before firefighters extinguished the flames. The perpetrator’s identity has not been made public.
In Grenoble, a 28-year-old Romanian man riding a scooter allegedly fired fireworks, one of which landed in a bush and started a fire. Passersby prevented the flames from spreading, and the man, who was already known to police, was taken into custody.
