Justice “was restorative” and gave a “maximum answers” during the trial of the attacks of November 13, said David Fritz-Goeppinger, hostage of the Bataclan commando, photographer and writer, Friday June 10 on franceinfo. He publishes a logbook of the trial every week on franceinfo since its opening. However, David Fritz-Goeppinger has some regrets: he would have liked “know more” on “childhood” commando members, “their personal construction” and “the wheels” of “their radicalization”. A trial in its home stretch since Friday is the last day of the indictment and Monday will begin the defense arguments.
franceinfo: Is keeping this logbook a way to stay away from the whirlwind?
David Fritz-Goeppinger: Yes, absolutely. I always said it. The basic idea was to hold the bull by the horns. And when we refer to the last seven years, the status of victim is a lethargic status in which we are put by the event. And keeping this diary also means becoming a subject again.
After nine months of hearing, are you relieved?
There is relief. Above all, we can’t wait for it to end, it must be said, even if we are a little apprehensive about the aftermath. We wonder how it will be. But there was a great relief to say that we discovered that. We were in the process of justice. We saw !
You say that it is not easy to be compensated by the State during this trial. It’s real ?
It’s not as simple as that. I complain, but maybe I’m not the most complaining person. There are civil parties who have never received anything. It is also important to know all the cogs and the dysfunctions and also the things that work in a big trial like this.
You tell this trial also with your black and white photos. You photograph faces, but sometimes a ray of sunshine that appears in the courtroom. What is this ray of sunshine?
This ray of sunshine is a light that has always been present. The courthouse, for me, is a big cave. It’s very mineral. Sometimes there is a ray of light that splits the darkness.
Do you have any regrets about the way the trial went?
There was a real challenge in understanding how they were radicalized. What were the workings of this radicalization? Maybe look at their childhood, their personal construction, even if it was done in court. Me, I found myself in a corridor with two armed men with whom I could have played football when I was a child. This contrast, extremely violent and traumatic, could perhaps have been deconstructed at the hearing. I do not know if it is shared by other civil parties, but for my part, I would perhaps have liked to know more.
Has justice been up to it?
I do not claim to speak for all the victims. I have this logbook which allows me to have an overanalysis of the facts, but in my case, I think it was restorative and we are not even at the verdict yet. I have enough distance to know if, yes or no, I managed to obtain the maximum of answers of these ten months. I feel like yes.
If you had to keep an image of this trial?
It is not an image nor a day. I think it’s a period. It is the month of October, the five weeks of depositions of civil parties and the month of May too. In fact, for the first time, justice heard us. It’s quite unique. It was very strong.
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