Deadly French flood: Mayor jailed for 4 years
21:36, 13 December 2014
PARIS. KAZINFORM - A French court Friday sentenced the former mayor of a small seaside village to four years in prison for concealing flood risks that led to the death of 29 people in a brutal storm.
The court ruled that Rene Marratier was aware of the risks of flooding in La Faute-sur-Mer on the western coast but "deliberately hid" them so as not to miss out on the "cash-cow" of property development. Marratier immediately announced his intention to appeal. A total of 29 residents, mainly elderly people and young children, drowned in bungalows when the seawall protecting La Faute-sur-Mer gave way, exposing its roughly 1,000 citizens to the fury of the stormy sea. The 2010 storm "Xynthia" unleashed gale force winds and torrential rains, destroying roads and houses along the Atlantic coast, leaving 53 dead in France, Arab News reported.