aixcentric

There was still smoke coming out of Les Deux Garcons yesterday morning, a good 4 hours after the fire-fighters arrived to tackle the blaze.

Behind police cordons, locals stood, looking on appalled at the obvious damage to both the ground floor brasserie and the reception rooms on the first floor. And we now learn that bedrooms at the adjoining hotel de Gantes, empty at the time, were damaged by smoke too.

Thankfully, 17 inhabitants of rooms within the complex were led out to safety at the nearby café Le Grillon where they were given support.

About 80 fire-fighters worked throughout the morning, first spraying the façade and windows before entering, hoping to save the historic premises; special care was needed as the ceiling of the brasserie, wooden beams, had been badly affected.

But two 200m floors, the ground and first floors, were reduced to what La Provence called, ‘un amas de cendres’…a pile of ashes.

My photo shows the devastation of the ancient brasserie

So, the big question is what caused it?

That’s the job of the ‘police judiciaire de Marseille’ who have been appointed by the Vice Procureur d’Aix and have already called on specialists to search for any traces of criminal activity on site.

Les Deux Garcons and the hotel have both been experiencing what the local paper describes as a ‘année noire’ of enforced closures and staff redundancies.

Mayor Maryse Joissains has called it a ‘catastrophe’, but all hope this emblematic and much-loved building can rise from the ashes.

In the meantime, there are plans to quickly put up photographic façade, embellished with famous former diners, to preserve the harmony of the cours Mirabeau.