On Tuesday, August 15, tourists were quietly strolling through the Place aux Aires, in the heart of the historic center of Grasse (southeastern France). Restaurant tables were set up under large white parasols. You had to look up to see the blackened shutters on the upper floors of the building that dramatically caught fire two days earlier, on Saturday night. Three people died, two of them in the flames and another who probably jumped out of the window to escape the fire. She was found unconscious by firefighters in front of the building. Three people were also seriously injured.

A small barrier was erected in front of the sidewalk to protect the sealed door of the building. Hanging from it were five bouquets of flowers and a small piece of paper with the words "Reposez en paix" ("Rest in peace") written in capital letters by a child, followed by several lines of hearts. The elegant yellow tourist train that passes through Grasse has kept to its route but now it has rerouted to avoid the building.

The identification of the deceased victims was "still in progress, in particular by means of DNA expertise," said the prosecutor's office on Tuesday. But the investigation is rapidly progressing. A 47-year-old man was arrested as early as Sunday evening, after the city's CCTV was used to detect an individual leaving the building two minutes before the cameras detected the start of a fire, at 2:49 am on Sunday morning.

Placed in police custody, he eventually admitted to "causing the fire," but "involuntarily," according to the prosecutor. The man, who had no criminal record, worked as a waiter at the Brasserie des Aires, located at the foot of the burnt-out building, Le Monde has learned, confirming information from Nice-Matin. He reportedly returned to the scene of the fire shortly after the tragedy.

During his last interview, the suspect mentioned "throwing an unlit cigarette into the entrance hall of the building," according to Grasse prosecutor Damien Savarzeix. Referred to an examining magistrate, the man was charged with "deliberate damage by fire resulting in death," "deliberate damage by fire resulting in permanent disability," "deliberate damage by fire resulting in total absence from work of more than eight days" and "deliberate damage by fire." He has been provisionally held, pending a hearing before the liberty and custody judge scheduled for Friday, August 18.

This tragedy has left Grasse with an image it has been struggling to shake off. A town with two faces on the Côte d'Azur, Grasse is known for its perfume factories, medieval streets and elegant shop windows, but has long been held in low esteem by its neighbors on the Mediterranean coast. A priority district for the city's urban policy, Grasse's town center nevertheless has a poverty rate of over 38% and a considerable number of dilapidated buildings. While the stores, such as those of perfumers Fragonard, Molinard and Galimard, are eye-catching, the floors above often show signs of a dilapidated building.

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