The prosecution denounces “serious misconduct” and requires one year in prison...

Denouncing “An accumulation of serious faults”, the prosecution requested sentences of up to one year in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros Thursday at the trial of the fatal collapse of the scene scheduled for a Madonna concert in 2009 in Marseille.

This July 16, 2009, on the lawn of the Vélodrome stadium, “We were more in the setting of a circus in a village square than in the stage of a world tour”, accuses Michel Sastre, the first of two prosecutors who succeeded each other before the Marseille Criminal Court. “Here, it is not even responsible but not guilty, it is neither responsible nor guilty, and nobody changes anything!”, continues the prosecutor, to the seven defendants and their respective companies, including Live Nation France, the French subsidiary of the American concert giant.

Two dead, Charles Prow, a 23-year-old Englishman, and Charles Criscenzo, a 52-year-old from Aix-en-Provence, and eight wounded, one of whom, Giuseppe di Silvestro, will commit suicide two years later: by collapsing, little after 5 p.m., the roof of the stage makes a carnage.

In this very technical case, the legal experts are certain: the fall of the roof is the direct consequence of the poor placement of the sling used by a crane to hoist one of the angles of the roof, after the failure of two winches. This cable would have caused the sudden rupture of one of the metal beams then would have torn, causing the collapse of the whole structure.

We were more in the setting of a circus on a village square than that of the stage of a world tour.

Michel Sastre, prosecutor.

“The demonstration of the experts convinced us”, explains Jean-Yves Lourgouilloux, the second prosecutor, qualifying as «roman» the will of the defense to seek “A plumber” in the person of the crane operator. And this former national financial prosecutor to denounce the attitude of the defendants, and in particular of Jacqueline Bitton, alias Jackie Lombard, then president of Live Nation France, who would have “found the magic formula of the entrepreneur responsible for nothing ”. Against Ms. Lombard, 74, who lives in Los Angeles, the prosecution requested two years in prison including 18 months suspended, 30,000 euros fine and two years of prohibition to exercise his profession.

So hardly less than the sentence requested against Tim Norman, the boss of ESG, the English company that owns the scene and is responsible for its editing: two years in prison, one of which is suspended and 40,000 euros fine.

On the other hand, no prison sentence was required against the other defendants. Two years suspended and 10,000 euros fine against the other two ESG executives involved. Two years suspended, 25,000 euros fine and a ban on practicing for two years against the manager of Tours Concept France, the company responsible for assisting ESG and for which nine of the ten victims worked, 18 months suspended and 5,000 euros fine against the team leader, the Briton Scott Seaton, recruited for this project by ESG. Finally 10 months suspended and 4,000 euros fine against the manager of Mediaco, owner of the crane in question.

Regarding the three companies in the dock, Live Nation France, Tours Concept France and Mediaco, the fines required are respectively 150,000 euros, 70,000 euros and 30,000 euros.