Migrant With Deportation Order Charged in France Wildfire Looting
An Algerian migrant under deportation order has been charged with burgling at least five homes evacuated during France's worst wildfires since World War II, which burned over 104,000 acres.
The case underscores France’s ongoing struggle with migrant criminality and a deportation system that critics say fails to protect citizens, as Breitbart News reports.
Last summer’s forest fires in southwestern France were among the worst seen since World War II, consuming more than 104,000 acres and forcing hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate their homes.
While families fled for their lives, some properties in the Cestas commune of Gironde became targets for burglars who exploited the chaos, according to local newspaper Sud Ouest.
Among those arrested was a 28-year-old Algerian national who allegedly looted at least five evacuated homes despite being under an OQTF deportation order—an official directive requiring him to leave French territory. The suspect had already been convicted of four previous crimes in France.
[IMG_N]
Investigators gathered substantial evidence against the accused, including security camera footage placing him at the crime scenes, DNA samples recovered from inside at least some of the burgled homes, and geolocation data from his mobile phone.
Despite the weight of evidence, the Algerian denied full responsibility, claiming he merely served as a lookout for an accomplice who remains at large.
One victim, a great-grandmother from Cestas, testified before the Bordeaux criminal court last week about returning home on July 29th to find her house in disarray.
“It’s a bit like we were raped,” she told the court, describing how the intruders helped themselves to beer from her refrigerator and stole jewellery, including items that had survived an earlier burglary in Paris.
In a moment of visible frustration, the elderly woman reflected on the perpetrators: They are cowards. They are poor wretches, she said, before attempting to rationalize their actions by suggesting desperation might drive such behaviour.
The trial is scheduled to resume in October. Until then, the Algerian defendant will remain imprisoned as he still must serve sentences for two additional prior convictions.
The incident has reignited debate over France’s deportation enforcement, which manages to remove fewer than one in ten migrant criminals annually despite outstanding removal orders.
A survey conducted last year revealed that 86 per cent of French voters support detaining migrants with OQTF orders until their physical removal from the country, rather than the current practice of allowing them to remain free pending deportation—a system that critics argue enables repeat offending.
With information from Breitbart News
