Electric transformers were set on fire near arms manufacturing sites in Bourges, Cher, on the night of April 6 to 7. The far left claimed responsibility for this action in an anti-militarist text, as reported by BFMTV. The Paris prosecutor’s office, viewing these acts as a “violation of the nation’s fundamental interests,” has taken over the investigation.
Arms manufacturing companies targeted by a far-left group? During the night of April 6 to 7, a series of arson attacks targeted electrical installations in Bourges, Cher, and in a neighboring town, Chapelle-Saint-Ursin. These arson attacks, described as “coordinated and of particular seriousness” by the Cher prefecture, took place near companies supplying the French army.
An anti-militarist graffiti was painted on a wall. The next day, on April 8, a far-left group claimed an act of “sabotage,” citing a struggle against “war makers,” according to a text published on an anarchist website and viewed by BFMTV.
The Bourges prosecutor’s office ultimately transferred 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 a “violation of 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-terrorism sub-directorate (SDAT) and the national police judicial directorate (DNPJ).
A “sensitive” site
According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, on April 7 around 4 a.m., police found “two fires on two transformers located about twenty meters apart from each other in the town of La Chapelle-Saint-Ursin.”
“The site was classified as sensitive, as the transformers primarily supplied companies KNDS and MBDA (companies supplying the armies). A black paint inscription stating ‘actions against war’ was left on a wall,” the prosecutor’s office continued.
At 4:55 a.m., “police were called for a fire on an electrical pylon in the commercial zone of Saint-Doulchard.” “A fence had been cut and cables were burned,” noted the prosecutor’s office.
Around twenty firefighters were dispatched to extinguish the fire. The damage is estimated at several million euros, according to the prefecture. Close to 3,000 households had their electricity cut off for several hours.
The next day, a claim of responsibility was published on Indymedia, a platform where anarchist political groups typically claim their arson attacks.
“The race for military power”
“On the night of April 6 to 7, we sabotaged in Bourges and its surroundings the electrical network supplying the ‘bastion of national land defense,'” proclaimed the authors of this antimilitarist and anti-imperialist message. They denounce “war” and “the race for military power.” “This country, despite everything, is the second largest exporter of death technologies in the world,” they wrote.
As a historic bastion of national defense, the city of Bourges is home to dozens of companies linked to the military industry. This is what the presumed arsonists denounce in their claim: they oppose the French missile manufacturer MBDA, the producers of anti-aircraft weapons Aster and Mistral, the anti-tank company Akeron, and a weapons test center of the Ministry of Defense.
“Opposing war makers is always possible and absolutely necessary,” the authors further declare, 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 is not affected.”
