the emotion of the victims at the opening of the trial

Three of the eight defendants arrive at the Paris court. A courthouse under high surveillance. A large police force has been deployed to secure the opening of the Nice attack trial (Alpes-Maritimes). A few rare victims made the trip from the Côte d’Azur. Célia Viale lost her mother on the Promenade des Anglais and her father was injured. “She is no longer there to defend herself. She is no longer there to explain. My father is still there, he was injured in the attack but it’s too hard and I feel the strength to be able to do it. do, so I want to be able to testify for her, say the person it was”, she explains. 900 km away, in Nice, a room has been specially fitted out for the simultaneous broadcasting of the trial. Seloua Mensi lost her sister, she wanted to attend this first broadcast: “I am stressed, my heart is heavy and of course I am in great pain. I was impatiently awaiting this trial”.

A trial for history which should last three months. Eight people will be judged by the special assize court. The shadow of Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, the author of the Nice attack, will hang over the debates. On July 14, 2016, at the end of the fireworks display, he threw his truck into the crowd. In less than four minutes, he claimed 86 lives before being shot dead by the police. The investigation did not establish whether the defendants were aware of the planned attack in Nice, but three were fully aware that Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was for armed Jihad. This first day of hearing will be devoted to updating the lists of civil parties. They were 865 before the trial.