Additional security measures have been taken in the French capital, Paris, in the run-up to the trial of the suspects in the November 2015 terrorist attacks in the city. More than a thousand police officers are being deployed to maintain security during the trial.
The attacks on Bataclan concert hall and the Stade de France football stadium, among other things, killed 130 people and injured more than 350.
“The terrorist threat is high in France, especially during this case,” said French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. He has called for vigilance. Those authorized to attend the case must pass through multiple checkpoints, after which they enter a courtroom built especially for the occasion or other areas where the hearings are broadcast.
The trial is expected to last nine months, and the verdict is expected on May 24 and 25, 2022. The only attacker who is still alive and who will be the focus of attention is Salah Abdeslam. He will be given speaking time in mid-January 2022, but it is uncertain whether he will use it.
In total, including Abdeslam, twenty suspects will be tried. For example, they would have supplied weapons and false documents or would have transported or sheltered the perpetrators. In addition, not all suspects would have been aware of the malicious intentions of the attackers.
With a file of nearly a million pages and 330 lawyers working on the trial, it is the largest lawsuit in modern French history.