There has been a total of one month of hearing suspension since January, due to cases of Covid-19 in the box. In addition, the president of the special assize court cut the examination of the facts into sections, according to their chronology. Consequence of this decision: the interrogations and debates on the evening of November 13, 2015 have still not taken place.
It’s very long, comments David Fritz-Goeppinger, ex-hostage of the Bataclan who keeps his trial log for franceinfo. “We have the impression of being stuck, that it will never end. We are coming to six months of hearing, we are suffering the moment. Every time Salah Abdeslam speaks, many people come to listen to him like if he was going to carry absolute truth, when not at all. We have to hang on, it’s the only thing we have left.”
“We are in the middle of a mist, with the feeling of sailing blind.”
David Fritz Goeppingerat franceinfo
Salah Abdeslam multiplied his provocations this week, telling a civil party lawyer: “You messed up my life”, comparing his commitment to the Islamic State group in 2015 to that of those who support Ukraine today. Faced with this, Arthur Dénouveaux, president of the association of victims Life for Paris, very present at the hearing since September, has reached saturation. He announced that he would not return to the trial immediately.
The trial of November 13 runs too empty for me. Bye bye for a few weeks. pic.twitter.com/k2MKPTACbn
— Arthur Dénouveaux (@Arthur_Dvx) March 15, 2022
The vice-president of the association, Olivier Laplaud, explains that “Arthur, like many others, has invested a lot physically and morally in this trial. It takes a lot of time, with a life on the side. We have a feeling of frustration, it weighs a lot on morale. The attitude of the defendants, the provocations of Salah Abdeslam… and all this for answers that are almost absent. What is the point?
Many victims who follow the proceedings via web radio also say they are tired of the long quarrels between lawyers. Tuesday, March 15, the defense even left the room. Christophe Naudin, survivor of the Bataclan, says he is exhausted from all this hearing time spent on things other than the case itself: “I really feel like it’s a play. When there are postures, ego rivalries between lawyers, it’s boring. I feel like it’s going on a loop. every time I tell myself that I’m not going to come back, and I end up coming back. It’s tiring because it’s not moving forward, it’s in vain… It’s not up to par.”
Initially scheduled for the end of May, the verdict is now rather expected at the end of June/beginning of July.
Trial of the November 13 attacks, the civil parties exhausted: report by Mathilde Lemaire
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