HEC Paris was the victim of a violent fire this Tuesday, October 3, 2023. The main amphitheater of the business school was reportedly devastated, reports Le Parisien and BFMTV.
The prestigious business school was the victim of a major fire. Tuesday, October 3 in the evening, a fire broke out shortly after 8 p.m., in its premises located in the town of Jouy-en-Josas, in Yvelines, about twenty kilometers southwest of Paris. Le Parisien reports that many firefighters were still working on site at the very end of the evening.
In the images reaching us on social networks, we can see a huge plume of black smoke rising into the sky. It seems that the main amphitheater was hit hard by the flames which also partially destroyed a second building, relays Le Parisien. At this time, the causes of this violent fire are not known.
Speaking to the Ile-de-France daily, a student present at the scene recounted the “windows [which] exploded”, “the flames [which] were protruding from the roof” and more generally, the “impressive” spectacle he was able to witness. “All that remains is the walls of the lecture hall,” said the student. BFMTV affirms, for its part, that the fire spread over 400 to 500m².
Still in the columns of Le Parisien, the student explained that at the time the fire broke out, a conference with Jacques Attali was taking place on the HEC campus. According to information from BFMTV, management interrupted the conference to evacuate. “There is a very big fire, really very big. With the wind, the smoke comes here, but it might be more prudent to stop the conference and start going out,” it was said. Around 150 people had to be evacuated, but so far no injuries have been reported.
