“To do this a few days before All Saints Day, I am outraged. It’s revolting. » In the alleys of the Pont-de-Justice cemetery, in Nîmes, Elisabeth (she did not wish to give her name), who came to clean the family vault, did not hide her anger this Sunday. A few days earlier, on the night of Wednesday October 26 to Thursday October 27, around sixty funerary monuments were damaged. Statues, crosses of Christ, plaques were torn from tombstones. On some stelae, only a trace in the shape of a cross remains, and four holes. All grave goods have disappeared. They were unscrewed.
On the spot, three days after the events, in the silence of meditation, a feeling of amazement still reigns. “When I heard this, I hurried to come, testifies Yves Marty, who lives in the neighboring department of Hérault. The graves of my loved ones are not affected but it is revolting for the families to whom this happens. »
The break-in was observed by one of the site guards in the early morning of Thursday. To enter inside the enclosure, the criminals broke part of the wall (since resealed by municipal agents). No tag or message against a community has been found. Maryline Morel, who came to put flowers on her parents’ grave, does not understand. “It’s madness anyway! Why such acts? It’s incomprehensible. It seems to me that in every denomination the dead are respected. »
“Heinous Scenes”
The Pont-de-Justice, with its 14 hectares, is the largest cemetery in the Gard prefecture (150,000 inhabitants). One circulates there thanks to numerous pedestrian alleys which serve the 14,000 tombs. Very busy, especially during this period, the place benefits from police surveillance on this weekend of the Day of the Dead, like the three other cemeteries in the city. “We don’t expect this kind of event here, it’s big, constantly monitored. It’s a bit like the historic cemetery, that of the old families of Nîmes, there are always people”observe un couple.
According to the first elements of the investigation, reported by Christine Tournier-Barnier, municipal councilor delegated to the general administration, the reasons for these acts relate to « a traffic of vol de bronze ». “These are bronze symbols that have been stolen in priority, objects that resell well. A virgin was also stolen but she was found in a ditch. It must have been too heavy. » An investigation is underway, fingerprints have been taken to try to find the thieves. The city has never experienced such acts of vandalism in its cemeteries.
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