Chronicles

Historian Jacques Krynen argues that French national pride and the country's sense of “superiority” have been passed down the ages and through various types of government and regimes to the modern era. And the legal historian believes its origins are to be found at the end of the 13th and the start of the 14th centuries, when Philip IV – better known to history as 'Philip the Fair' – was king of France. Fabien Escalona reports.

At the end of an almost ten-month trial, the sentencing of 20 individuals accused of perpetrating or helping to perpetrate the November 13th 2015 terrorist attacks in and around Paris was pronounced on Wednesday, including a 30-year jail term without possibility of parole for one of the terrorists, Salah Abdeslam. Throughout the trial, Mediapart has been publishing the reactions to the proceedings from seven direct and indirect victims of the attacks. One of them is Georges Salines, whose daughter Lola, 28, was among the 90 people murdered at the Bataclan concert hall. In his latest contribution, written shortly before the verdicts were announced, he questions the sense behind severe jail sentences, and notably that, widely expected, handed to Abdeslam, which he says “abandons the idea of any possibility of remorse, of making amends, of redemption”.

The verdicts and sentencing at the end of a nine-month trial in Paris of 20 individuals accused of taking part in the November 13th 2015 terrorist attacks in the French capital, which claimed the lives of 130 people, are due to be announced late on Wednesday. Mediapart has been publishing first-hand reactions from seven victims of the massacres as they took part in the court proceedings. Aurélia Gilbert, 48, emerged physically unscathed from the shooting massacre that night at the Bataclan music hall, but has suffered significant psychological effects since. Here, at the close of the trial, she gives her account of how she has finally been relieved of “this burden that had lasted almost seven years”.

The trial of 20 individuals variously accused of perpetrating or helping to carry out the November 13th 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, in which 130 people died, is due to end this coming week with verdicts expected on Wednesday June 29th. Throughout the trial, which began in September 2021, Mediapart has been publishing first-hand reactions from seven victims of the massacres as they have taken part in, and followed, the court proceedings. Here, schoolteacher Christophe Naudin, who survived the shooting massacre at the Bataclan concert hall in which one of his closest friends died, describes his emotions as the trial comes to a close and reveals how for a long period he stopped following news of the proceedings.

The trial of 20 individuals accused of variously perpetrating or helping with the carrying out of the November 13th 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris is continuing, in proceedings that are expected to last nine months. As part of its regular coverage of the trial, Mediapart is publishing the first-hand reactions and reflections of seven victims of the massacres as they follow the court proceedings. Here Roman, aged 30, who escaped alive after terrorists attacked La Belle Équipe restaurant where he was dining with friends, gives his evidence to the court about the attacks and describes the events that preceded it.

From Monday August 9th the French government made it obligatory to have a health pass for anyone wanting to enter a range of establishments or access services, from cafés to restaurants, cinemas to libraries and high-speed trains to hospitals. This meant thousands of people have been trying to get a QR code to prove they have been vaccinated twice, had a recent negative Covid test or that they had recovered from the illness in the last six months and thus had antibodies. For some, this has meant a long and frustrating time dealing with the complexities of a new layer of French bureaucracy. Khedidja Zerouali has been talking to people who have struggled to navigate their way around this brave new world of health rules.

A trial is underway in Paris into the financial aspects of the so-called Karachi affair, which involves allegations of illegal kickbacks paid in relation to French defence contracts with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in the 1990s. The case has witnessed two very different worlds coming together in the same courtroom. On the one hand is the white-collar world of power, money and vanity represented by the accused, who were senior French advisors and officials. On the other side is the blue-collar world of workers, represented by the survivors and families of victims of the bus bombing which killed 14 people in Karachi in 2002, including 11 French defence staff who were working on contracts relating to those multi-million euro defence deals. Fabrice Arfi reports.

This week is the start of a critical period in Emmanuel Macron's presidency. Workers from the rail industry, Air France and the supermarket chain Carrefour have been taking industrial action while students have held sit-ins at a number of universities. The government says that these various actions with their different causes show an irrational fear of the “new world” that is dawning. In fact, argues Hubert Huertas, these protests stem from a weariness with years of talk about the need for austerity and reform - and they could yet threaten the presidency's power.