the Eagles of Death Metal in concert in Paris, like a parenthesis in the trial of the attacks

It’s with We Are Family, this good old hit from Sister Sledge, which the Eagles of Death Metal enter on stage, Tuesday April 26 at the Olympia. In the middle of the trial of the November 13 attacks, the Eagles of Death Metal group is back in Paris, this time at the Olympia. The last time they set foot in the capital was in 2016 to finish the Bataclan concert, which was interrupted by terrorists.

Six years later the atmosphere was much more festive but still charged with emotion. In the pit, Stephanie smiles. She was a little apprehensive, however, just before the start of the concert. “It’s part of the reconstruction, getting out of this damn victim status. I forced myself to return to the Bataclan as soon as it reopened. If we don’t force ourselves, we don’t do anything anymore.”

In the middle of this crowd of rockers, without her long black dress, this time, master Claire Josserand-Smith. The one who, at the trial of the November 13 attacks, succeeded in getting Salah Abdeslam to speak. She defends the singer of the group, Jess Hughes, and she spent the afternoon with him. “I’m not going to give too much about his intimacy, but he is in good shape! He has a hell of a peach and he wants to give a good concert to everyone. On November 13, 2015, his speech and his songs were cut . There, we will listen to it until the end.” The trial of the attacks is not far in the minds. The Olympia, like an extension of the courtroom of the Palais de Justice in Paris? “Tonight, not at all! We’re in a festive setting. We’re here to be together, we’ve been through things collectively in this courtroom for months. We’re going to continue tonight and we’re going to have a lot of fun. “

Yann, he is a survivor of the terrace of Petit Cambodge, November 13, 2015. But he wanted to be there tonight with the others. “When I was in the emergency room, I saw people arriving from the Bataclan. I feel more than united. I don’t know if you can say it’s a family, but there are a lot of friendships that have been linked . So yeah, I’m very happy to be here.” And it is also a breather in relation to the heaviness of the trial. “Unquestionably. All this before the testimonies that will resume, it feels good.”

Since the night of the attack, the group has never played again Kiss The Devil, the track on which the terrorists entered the Bataclan concert hall. Stéphanie has the name of the song tattooed on her thigh, hoping that one day they will all have the courage, together, to listen to it again.