While the pleadings of the trial of the attacks of November 13, 2015 ended Friday June 24, the association of victims Life for Paris expressed Friday June 24 on franceinfo its “satisfaction to see this trial come to an end while remaining so exemplary”. For its president Arthur Dénouveaux, president of the victims’ association Life for Paris, “we can blame this trial for not having been done economically, but not at all for having concealed certain things”. He also believes that the “long time” of the trial “enabled the accused to better defend themselves. And that, we can be proud of.”
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franceinfo: What did you learn from these pleadings?
Arthur Denouveaux: I learned that the defense had had the opportunity, whether today or in the last ten days, to speak very freely. The defendants can be happy to have a good defense and we French people can be proud of having a justice system that is just as fair.
What wins with you? The difficulty is to hear the defendants’ lawyers plead or the satisfaction of seeing the rule of law express itself?
No doubt about the fact that it is the satisfaction to hear the lawyers plead and therefore defend the rule of law. The victims of terrorists, we have experienced things much harder than hearing lawyers defend the accused. And today, it was above all a satisfaction to see this trial come to an end while remaining so exemplary, even in this last phase.
The defense has had its say in recent days. There were difficult times for the victims, for their loved ones. Did you feel the difference in nature of the defendants who were present in this trial?
These ten days have made it possible to show that there was a boundary that was emerging between the radicalized and the non-radicalized, that there were people who were aware of all or part of the terrorist project and others who were not. everything.
“Even if there is a huge emotion around November 13, it was important that the law prevails and that, potentially, some of the defendants come out free because they have already served a significant pre-trial detention sentence. “
Arthur Dénouveaux, president of the victims’ association Life for Parisat franceinfo
Do you feel that this trial has managed to be complete?
I hope this trial was indeed complete. We gave each other so much time. We went into so many details and we had, among other things, so many moments that were a little too long, that I hope we didn’t miss anything. I have the impression that everything could be said, even things that did not necessarily have their place in a trial to judge the accused. We can criticize this trial for not having been done economically, but not at all for having concealed certain things.
Was the length of the trial hard to live with?
It was difficult to put our life on hold and rehash November 13 in so much detail for more than nine months. But it was necessary. It was a good way to do things. I think it was also very helpful for the defendants. This is one of the things that was very audible in the pleadings, and especially today. When you come out of six and a half years of isolation, it probably takes several months to get used to talking again, to being in society. And this long time also allowed the accused to better defend themselves. And that, we can be proud of.
Is there a fear of emptiness for the victims or for their loved ones at the end of the trial?
I hear this fear of the void. I don’t feel it personally. I’ve been told about it for months and so I prepared for it. But above all, I have the impression that we forget that the victims have already been through a lot and that they don’t trust themselves enough to be able to overcome what will surely be a kind of air pocket, but which, in my opinion, will not last. This is also why there are two large associations which together bring together more than 1,500 victims. There are spaces to speak, there are spaces to discuss all the problems related to November 13 that will persist after the trial. Even if it’s going to change in nature, even if the microphones are going to turn away from us a little, I think we have all the weapons for it to go well.
“For many civil parties, there is a desire to turn away from November 13. And this may be the first time in six and a half years that we have the ability to really turn away from it.”
Arthur Denouveauxat franceinfo
In my opinion, the page that will turn is going to be extremely important. Second, we don’t want to completely delude ourselves that it’s all over, because it’s not.