Manslaughter trial
In Grenoble, France, 16 people and companies were tried on January 31, 2005 for manslaughter. Defendants in the trial included:
* Gilbert Degreaves, the Belgian driver of the truck that caused the fire
* Volvo, the truck's manufacturer
* French and Italian managers of the tunnel
* ATMB and SITMB
* Safety regulators
* Mayor of Chamonix
* A senior official of the French Ministry of Public Works.
The cause of the fire is disputed. Different accounts report it to be a cigarette stub carelessly thrown on to the truck, a mechanical fault, or poor maintenance of the truck's engine. The closest smoke detector was out of order and French emergency services do not use the same radio frequency as those inside the tunnel. The Italian company responsible for operating the tunnel, SITMB, paid €13.5 million ($17.5 million US) to a fund for the families of the victims. Édouard Balladur, former president of the French company operating the tunnel (from 1968 to 1980), then later Prime Minister of France, was heard as a witness. He was asked about the security measures that he took or failed to take. Balladur claimed that a lot was prevented by the division of the tunnel into two sections operated by two companies (one in France, the other in Italy) which did not take a concerted approach. On July 27, 2005, thirteen defendants were found guilty, and handed sentences ranging from fines to suspended prison sentences, to 6 months in jail.
* Gerard Roncoli, the head of security at the tunnel, was given a 6 month jail term plus an additional 24 months suspended sentence, the heaviest sentence levied against any of the defendants.
* Remy Chardon, former president of the French company operating the tunnel, was given a two-year suspended jail term and a fine of approximately $18,000 US.
* Gilbert Degreaves, the driver of the truck, was given a four-month suspended sentence.
* Seven other people, including the tunnel's Italian security chief, were handed suspended terms and fines. Three companies were fined up to $180,000 US each.
The charges against Volvo were dropped.