French mayor in support of new asylum center in seaside town has his house burned down: Initial findings suggest a Molotov cocktail could have started the blaze that left the mayor’s house and cars in ruins

The house of a left-wing mayor in France, who supports a controversial plan to establish an asylum center in the small seaside town of Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, has been burned down in a suspected arson attack.

Police were called to the residence of Yannick Morez early on Wednesday morning after his home and two vehicles were destroyed in the blaze.

The left-wing mayor, who described the attack as “cowardly and unacceptable,” expressed his gratitude to neighbors for alerting him to the fire, which he said could have had “more dramatic consequences.”

An initial investigation suggested the fire was not accidental, and Sylvie Canovas-Lagarde, the prosecutor for Saint-Nazaire, confirmed a criminal inquiry was now underway after fire experts ruled the attack to be subject to the “intervention of third parties.”

Investigative sources cited by the Ouest France news outlet suggested the fire could have been started by a Molotov cocktail.

Insert Sam Hyde quote here.