In Lyon, for several weeks, city merchants have been victims of taggers. Anonymous people that vandalize their windows using acid, an indelible substance that causes irreparable damage. No suspect has been challenged for the moment.
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Why are Lyon traders taken targeting? Their windows are tagged with white inscriptions, now indelible. It all started three weeks ago. In the middle of the night, a group of five people vandalize storefronts in the Guillotière district. A gesture without special protection, as can be seen on the video surveillance camera of a restaurant. In total, around twenty businesses were targeted by these acid tags.
Fluorhydrical acid
Kevin Valette, pharmacist in the 7ᵉ arrondissement, also paid the price. “We had tried to remove it, it does not leave and unfortunately the procedure would be to completely replace the window with costs that would be very significant,” he deplores the report above. The cost is estimated between 2,000 and 5,000 euros for a tagged showcase.
Because the chemical product used, fluorithic acid, sold in a specialized store, makes glazing the glazing impossible. “The acid on the clear glass will attack the surface. To remove this acid, it would be necessary to repolish the glass. We would spend hours and economically, it is not profitable. The solution, each time, is to change the glazing”admits Alain Brussin, director of the Rhône Miroterie in Vaulx-en-Velin.
But some traders have decided not to replace it. Too expensive. Romain Wysocki, manager of the restaurant “Gustavo” has complained. He is now expecting news from his insurance. “The real risk for us in the long term is that our frankness increases, or that our insurance decides to harm us since we give too many risks for them”, He worries.
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As with walls, windows are supports on which graffiti artists mark their territory. But behind these tags, professionals in the sector denounce free vandalism without any claim. “It is a product that is very dangerous, very corrosive. So, it requires special precautions. It is a lot of risk -level risk -taking, risk -leveling risk for a tag that is not really going to be seen. This is why acid tag is not necessarily, I find, what is most interesting in graffiti”argues the graffiti artist Packe Lyonbombing.
Police confirms having opened an investigation to identify the authors of these tags. No arrest has yet been carried out.
V. F | Reportage TF1 : Gwénaël WINDRESTIN et Quincy RUSSELL