9 p.m., this Saturday, while the Coupe de France final begins in Lille, a few kilometers away the carcass of a completely charred bus is frozen in the middle of platform number 8 of the Fresnes-lès-Montauban toll booth (Pas- de-Calais), on the A1 motorway. Testimony of the violent clashes that occurred three hours earlier between OL and PSG supporters.
The injured Lyon supporters were all evacuated and the highway, closed in both directions, was handed over to gendarmerie experts and Sanef agents. While a helicopter from the criminal identification unit (CIC) flies over the toll to multiply the photographic images, an expert does the same on the ground with the charred bus while recording his conclusions.
“Broken glass, remnants of smoke bombs and dispersal grenades”
For more than 2.5 hours, four Sanef agents have been working to clear the highway of anything that could be dangerous for traffic. “There is debris everywhere,” laments one of them. In addition to the classic trash that was with the bus passengers, there is broken glass, remains of smoke bombs and grenades. » Their manager asked them to condemn platforms 7, 8 and 9. “The roof of the toll booth was hit,” he said. There is risk of collapse. » As for the reopening of the highway, we will have to wait. “As long as the insurance experts have not come, we will not touch anything,” specifies the manager. I am unable to say when it will be reopened again, at least as far as the Paris-Lille axis is concerned. »
2 km from the toll, the village of Fresnes-lès-Montauban has regained its tranquility even if, there too, broken glass is still present in places on the road. At the McDonald’s located just after the A1 motorway exit ramp, the subject of clashes between supporters is in every conversation. “We didn’t know what was happening for a long time,” confides the restaurant manager. I was already at work when it happened and I could just see the huge plume of smoke coming off the highway. In the evening, we were told that a bus had burned. »
Océane, a restaurant employee, says she was stuck in traffic jams to pick up her shift. “It was completely blocked between the Gavrelle and Fresnes-lès-Montauban roundabouts. People were turned away from the highway, I’ve never seen that. When I arrived above the A1, I saw at least fifty police and fire engines. It was the apocalypse. »
