In a case that involved at least 27 victims, a 35-year-old Sudanese man
has been convicted for multiple arson attacks across the French city of
Pau, which were set over the period of at least two months, between
March and May 2022. During one of the attacks, a young female student
was forced to jump from her window, 7 meters (22 feet) off the ground,
resulting in her breaking both her ankles and leaving her confined to
using a cane, even as of today.
The man has now been convicted for his serial arson attacks, but the judge in the case refuses to deport him, saying that being sent back to Sudan would represent too grave a threat to his life.
The first incident occurred on the night of March 18, 2022, when he set a building on fire at Rue Darrichon and Passage des Alliés along with two vehicles nearby, according to French news outlet La Republique des Pyrenees.
On the night of May 3, he lit an entire building on fire at Rue Henri-Faisans, which was engulfed in flames. Dozens of students were trapped inside but only one was seriously injured. The fire had started in an Indian restaurant on the first floor but soon spread to the rest of the building.
On May 12, the Sudanese man set seven vehicles on fire in the Zaragoza district, and then on the same night, he broke into the Saint-Pierre Church and set fire to the presbytery.
In total, he set fire to eight vehicles over the course of the attacks.