Paris attacks trial
| Company type | Criminal trial |
|---|---|
| Industry | Judicial proceedings |
| Founded | September 8, 2021 in Paris, France |
| Defunct | June 29, 2022 |
| Headquarters | Paris , France |
Area served | France |
Key people | Jean-Louis Périès (presiding judge) |
Number of employees | 5 (judges) |
The trial concerning the Paris attacks () took place in Paris, France, involving twenty men accused of participating in the terrorist assaults of 13 November 2015, which resulted in 130 fatalities and hundreds of injuries. Spanning ten months, this proceeding became the lengthiest criminal trial in French history. It was held in a purpose-built courtroom within the Palais de Justice, overseen by a panel of five judges headed by Jean-Louis Périès. The court convened over 148 days from 8 September 2021 until 27 June 2022, with the verdicts announced on 29 June 2022. Nineteen defendants were convicted on all counts and received sentences ranging from four years to life imprisonment. One individual was found guilty solely of fraud, acquitted of terrorism charges, and sentenced to two years. This legal proceeding is also referred to as V13, a nod to the Friday () the 13th date of the attacks.
Background
On 13 November 2015, a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks struck Paris. Three suicide bombers detonated explosive devices outside the Stade de France located in Saint-Denis, causing one death. Another trio of gunmen targeted café and restaurant terraces in the 10th and 11th arrondissements, killing 39 people; among them, one attacker set off a suicide vest inside a café. A third faction assaulted the Bataclan theatre during a concert by Eagles of Death Metal attended by approximately 1,500 people; ninety victims died from gunfire there. The overall death toll reached 130.
Seven perpetrators died on 13 November; two others were killed during a police operation in Saint Denis on 18 November. Salah Abdeslam, one attacker, survived; he had transported three suicide bombers to Stade de France but discarded his explosive vest and escaped to Brussels, where he was apprehended on 18 March 2016.
The planning for these attacks took place in Belgium. Among those involved, two held Belgian citizenship, six were French nationals (with three residing in Belgium), and two were Iraqi.
After a four-year investigation, on 29 November 2019, France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor charged fourteen individuals connected to the attacks and issued six additional arrest warrants.
Courtroom
The proceedings occurred in a courtroom specially constructed inside the Palais de Justice on the Île de la Cité in central Paris. Built to seat around 500 due to the substantial number of civil parties (), over 1,800 had registered by September 2021, although not all attended regularly. Additional rooms with live video feeds were arranged for media representatives and members of the public. The trial sessions were recorded for judicial archives only; civil parties had access to a web-radio service, while other forms of recording were prohibited. This courtroom cost approximately seven million euros to build and was later utilized for the trial related to the Nice lorry attack.
Court sessions typically took place from Tuesday through Friday and occasionally on Mondays, beginning at 12:30 pm. The case file consisted of more than one million pages spread across 542 volumes, with over 300 witnesses scheduled to testify. Although initially planned to conclude by May, delays arose due to COVID-19 infections among defendants.
The initial budget surpassed sixty million euros, largely allocated to legal aid expenses for lawyers representing civil parties. The trial is also known as V13, referencing the Friday () the 13th date when the attacks occurred.
Judges, prosecutors and lawyers
The proceedings were held before a specially assembled criminal tribunal () consisting of five judges, as French terrorism trials do not involve juries. Jean-Louis Périès presided over the court, assisted primarily by Frédérique Aline (), while a reserve group of four judges oversaw the process.
The prosecution team was composed of three attorneys general from PNAT: Camille Hennetier, Nicolas Le Bris, and Nicolas Braconnay.
Around 330 attorneys took part in the trial. Given the trial's duration and seriousness, each of the fourteen defendants was represented by at least two lawyers. Salah Abdeslam, the sole surviving member of the ten-person attack cell, was defended by Olivia Ronen and Martin Vettes, with Xavier Nogueras and Christian Saint-Palais joining his legal team. Approximately 300 lawyers represented civil parties, with Gérard Chemla, Frédéric Bibal, and Jean Reinhart each advocating for over 100 victims.
The accused
Fourteen individuals faced charges in court; six were tried in their absence. Eleven defendants were in custody and appeared under heavy guard inside a glass enclosure; three others had been released and sat outside. Among those absent, one was incarcerated in Turkey on terrorism charges, while five were presumed deceased in Syria but still prosecuted due to lack of official confirmation.
The eleven inside the enclosure included Abdeslam, Mohamed Abrini, Osama Krayem, Sofian Ayari, Mohamed Bakkali, Yassine Atar, Mohammed Amri, Ali El Haddad Asufi, Farid Kharkhach, Adel Haddadi, and Muhamed Usman. Outside the courtroom were Hamza Attou, Abdellah Chouaa, and Ali Oulkadi. Tried without presence were Ahmed Dahmani (detained in Turkey) and five others believed dead: Jean-Michel and Fabien Clain, Oussama Atar, Obeida Aref Dibo, and Omar Darif.
Abdeslam was the only defendant directly involved in executing the 13 November 2015 attacks; the remaining accused faced charges related to planning, logistical assistance, or aiding Abdeslam after the attacks.
Course of the trial
The trial commenced on 8 September 2021. Following preliminary formalities, Abdeslam declared he had renounced all professions to become a warrior for the Islamic State. The court president then outlined the charges and recounted the events of 13 November along with its victims.
In the following weeks, investigators from crime scenes and Belgian judicial authorities provided testimony. On 22 September, a police commissioner described entering the Bataclan theatre amid gunfire. The director of the Medico-legal Institute testified on 24 September. From late September over five weeks, around 350 survivors and bereaved individuals gave their accounts.
In early November, defendants were questioned about their personal histories; discussions on radicalisation and specific charges occurred later. The court paused for Armistice Day commemorations but heard testimonies from DGSI investigators and former President François Hollande.
Mid-November saw input from jihadism specialists and former security officials; former Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and public prosecutor François Molins also gave evidence. Belgian and Austrian investigators contributed through early December. Starting 9 December, relatives of defendants and attackers testified; the ex-head of DGSI appeared on 17 December.
A COVID-19 outbreak extended the year-end recess into January 2022. Cross-examinations addressing radicalisation up to August 2015 resumed but were again interrupted by further infections. On 9 February, Abdeslam spoke publicly for the first time about his involvement, denying responsibility for any killings or injuries. After another COVID-related pause, Belgian investigators detailed terrorist safe houses.
Between March and April, cross-examination concentrated on preparations for and execution of the attacks. Abdeslam declined to discuss events on the night itself; an explosives expert testified that a recovered suicide vest was non-functional. The victims' association Life for Paris requested permission to present photographs and audio recordings related to the Bataclan attack.
Subsequent weeks included testimony concerning Abdeslam’s escape and coordination efforts from Brussels. An anonymous witness identified Abdelhamid Abaaoud as the attack coordinator. On 12 April, Abdeslam broke his silence to describe his role in detail, asserting he chose not to detonate his vest out of compassion. Psychiatrists and psychologists then provided three days of expert testimony.
Following a spring recess and additional expert contributions—including sociologists and former anti-terror judges—the trial resumed with civil party testimonies but was again disrupted by COVID-19 cases.
The final phase began on 23 May with nine days dedicated to speeches from victim lawyers addressing central themes; prosecutors followed with three days summarizing evidence and proposing sentences. Defense attorneys delivered closing arguments over ten days; Abdeslam’s counsel spoke last on 24 June.
On 27 June—the concluding day—the defendants made their final statements before judges withdrew to deliberate verdicts scheduled for announcement on the evening of 29 June.
Verdicts
On 29 June 2022, nineteen out of the twenty individuals on trial were convicted on all counts. The twentieth defendant, Kharkhach, was acquitted of terrorism-related charges but found guilty of lesser fraud offenses, receiving a two-year sentence. Abdeslam was handed a life sentence without the possibility of parole before 30 years. Sentences for other defendants ranged from four years to life imprisonment.
Neither the defense nor the prosecution submitted any appeals.