A Moroccan man enters a houseboat to sleep, and his cigarette brings 30 firefighters to Lyon

The fire broke out on Wednesday at around 5:30 a.m. aboard the Joshwa, a residential boat moored along the Rhône quays, near the Musée des Confluences, in Lyon’s second arrondissement.

According to information from Le Progrès, a 33-year-old Moroccan man had entered the vessel by breaking a window located on the roof. The houseboat’s owner had gone on vacation.

The intrusion was detected by the company responsible for remotely monitoring the boat. After being notified, a neighbor went to the scene and saw smoke escaping from the vessel.

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Emergency services were quickly mobilized. Thirty firefighters intervened to bring the flames under control. A National Police team was also sent to the scene and arrested the Moroccan man in the immediate vicinity of the houseboat.

The man is homeless but is legally residing in France. He is suspected of entering the boat in order to commit a burglary.

He claims he was only looking for shelter

During his police custody, the Moroccan man denied any intention to burglarize the boat. He told investigators that he simply wanted to finish the night inside the houseboat so he could sleep in shelter.

The fire is believed to have been caused by a cigarette that had not been properly extinguished and was left in an ashtray. The investigation must nevertheless precisely determine the circumstances of the intrusion and the incident.

This man’s situation is reminiscent of that of a 77-year-old Moroccan who became homeless near Nantes after returning from a vacation in Morocco. In the Lyon case, the suspect had a residence permit but was nevertheless living on the streets.

Another factor complicates his legal situation: he was already subject to a ban on appearing in the Rhône department. His presence in Lyon therefore constituted a violation of that measure, independently of the suspicions related to breaking into the houseboat.

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What was supposed to be, according to his account, nothing more than a night spent sheltered thus turned into a fire, the intervention of 30 firefighters and police custody. The Moroccan man will now have to answer for entering the boat and explain why he was in a department where the courts had forbidden him to appear.