After the death of two undocumented workers, construction subcontractors in court

They were 34 and 29, their names were Kamel and Omar, and they were undocumented and untrained. They died in June 2019 on a construction site, in Epinay-sur-Seine in Seine-Saint-Denis, killed when the nacelle on which they were working fell off. Who is responsible for their death? This is what the trial which opens this Monday, in Bobigny, will have to determine.

According to an expert report quoted by a defense lawyer, “an anchoring defect” of the nacelle was identified. “The trial, which will be very technical, will determine who is responsible for the failure”, explains this lawyer on condition of anonymity.

Subcontractors

The two workers were involved in the rehabilitation of the Cité La Source, a 478-unit housing project whose lessor is Plaine Commune Habitat, which employed subcontracting companies. They were working on the thermal renovation of the exterior of a building when the nacelle fell. Significant gusts of wind had affected the Paris region that day, however insufficient to stop the work, judged the site managers.

Immediately after the accident, an investigation was entrusted to the judicial police of Seine-Saint-Denis to determine its causes. Asked by AFP, the defendants’ lawyers did not wish to speak before the opening of the trial Monday at 10 a.m. before the Bobigny criminal court, scheduled until Friday.

France red lantern for the dead at work

Seven men aged 37 to 61 are prosecuted in particular for “manslaughter” and “concealed work”. They face up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros. Three construction companies are also on the bench of the defendants as a legal person.

With more than 1,000 deaths per year, France is the European Union country with the most accidents and deaths at work. In Ile-de-France, 38 deaths were counted from January 30 to August 30, 2022 by the Labor Inspectorate, compared to 34 for the same period in 2021. In Paris, the town hall has set up a charter “zero deaths in work” to limit the use of subcontracting and refuse contracts with condemned companies.

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