12-Year-Old Girl Admits to Starting Fire at French Store | Juvenile Justice

A 12-year-old girl has confessed to intentionally setting the fire that destroyed the Carrefour Market supermarket in Hourtin, Gironde, on March 8th, according to a statement released Monday by the Bordeaux Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The investigation, led by the Lesparre-Médoc gendarmerie brigade, focused on analyzing surveillance footage from both the town and the store, ultimately identifying the young girl as a suspect. She was taken into custody on March 19th and immediately admitted to starting the fire by igniting clothing found in shopping carts, prosecutor Renaud Gadeuil stated.

“She confided in investigators her attraction to fire,” Gadeuil added. A psychiatric evaluation conducted as part of the inquiry concluded that the girl possessed the necessary discernment at the time of the act, establishing her penal responsibility despite her age.

The girl was brought before the Bordeaux court on March 20th as part of a summary procedure, leading to her presentation to the juvenile judge. Pending a full hearing, the judge has imposed a provisional educational measure. This includes a health module involving medical care, a prohibition from entering Hourtin, and a curfew between 7 p.m. And 6 a.m. Unless accompanied by an educator.

The fire caused the complete destruction of the 3,000 square meter Carrefour Market, leaving 31 employees temporarily unemployed. The estimated damage is valued at 7 million euros.

While minors under the age of 13 cannot be imprisoned in France, they can be subject to educational judicial measures if deemed to have sufficient understanding of their actions, according to the prosecutor’s office.