The man suspected of setting fire to Limoges Town Hall on Saturday has been identified as Hodei Ciarra Docampo (34), a far-left extremist who is on the French security authorities’ so-called ‘S-list’ of individuals considered a potential threat to public safety.
🔴 Limoges fire: the main suspect is Hodei Ciarra Docampo, described as a far-left ‘S-listed’ individual. He was arrested by the RAID.
His Facebook profile is full of political posts: Black Lives Matter, anti-police, Palestine, etc. (Updated) #17octobre… pic.twitter.com/IUfwiveLP8
— Fdesouche.com is a press review (@F_Desouche) 20 October 2026
The French identitarian media outlet Fdesouche was quick to identify the 34-year-old following his arrest on Tuesday morning, and was able to reveal some of the political content on his Facebook wall. Docampo has previously been convicted of violence against the police.
The arrest took place at his parents’ home in Val-d’Issoire, fifty kilometres from Limoges, according to Le Figaro reported later that same day.
His parents are also suspected of belonging to the same radical left-wing movement, the French newspaper reports. His father, Fernando Ciarra Ramirez, formerly known as a Basque separatist, was convicted in 2025 of several arson offences, including the burning of eight vehicles belonging to an electricity company in 2020.
When interviewed by France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine as he left the courtroom, the 70-year-old man said he was “satisfied with the verdict”. “I urge everyone to engage in civil resistance and civil disobedience,” he had stated.
His son was identified by the intelligence services using video footage from the scene of the crime. The 34-year-old is also said to have taken part in actions against a pellet factory organised by a radical environmental organisation called Les Soulèvements de la Terre.
Hodei Ciarra Docampo is under investigation by the counter-terrorism authorities, who had already had him on their radar due to his affiliation with a violent left-wing group in the Millevaches area.
There are around 3,000 far-left extremists on the French ‘S’ list, which also includes 5,300 Islamists and 1,300 far-right extremists, according to Le Journal du Dimanche reported in 2023.
The 34-year-old’s uncle Manuel Ciarra is said to have been arrested in Pamplona in 1979, on suspicion of belonging to the Basque terrorist group ETA.
French security experts estimate that around 5,000 far-left extremists were involved in the recent riots in France, reports The Telegraph.
