Batalcan trial: How did the Paris terror attacks in 2015 unfold?
France has finally entered the most significant chapter in its quest for justice for the deadliest attack the country has seen since the Second World War – the terror onslaught carried out by an Isis cell in Paris nearly six years ago.
The largest criminal trial in the country’s history commenced on Tuesday, in a complex within the capital’s thirteenth century Palais de Justice, custom-built to accommodate some 1,800 victims, 330 lawyers and 141 journalists.
The series of attacks on Friday 13 November 2015 claimed 130 lives and injured thousands more, marking a turning point in France’s response to terrorism and placing new tensions upon one of its key founding principles of civil liberty.
Over the next nine months, judges will hear testimonies from victims, relatives of the attackers and officials including former president Francois Hollande, while those who survived among the 20 accused will face questioning over their alleged roles ahead of a verdict, scheduled at the end of May.
With the trial set to dominate in the coming months, The Independent has revisited how the attacks unfolded.
Nearly all of the attackers were from France and Belgium, many of them childhood friends from the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek.
With the night of terror months in the planning, the cell rented three properties in Belgium under false identities between September and November. The Belgian attackers are reported to have picked up their suicide belts from one of these properties before driving three hired vehicles to Paris on the eve of the attack, eventually splitting up into reserved hotel rooms.
For those attending the Stade de France for a friendly match between the French and German national football teams, including Mr Hollande, the first indication of the attack – at 9.16pm – sounded little more than a dull thud beneath the din of the crowd.
Four minutes later, the second suicide bomb detonated outside the stadium, killing a security guard. The two bombers had failed to enter the stadium, where inside the French president remained seated in the knowledge of the dead attackers outside, fearful of causing a stampede if he moved too abruptly and panicked spectators still unaware of the true meaning of the two noises heard outside the stadium.
Painstaking half-time decisions by coaches and poor mobile reception meant players remained in the dark until full-time, celebrating their late second goal in typical style in front of flag-waving fans.
Just eight minutes after the first blast, as Mr Hollande still contemplated leaving his seat, a 17-minute onslaught had begun in the city centre, as gunmen with semi-automatic rifles emerged from a black Seat vehicle near the Place de la Republique to open fire upon those at Le Carillon bar and a restaurant opposite, Le Petit Cambodge. Fifteen people were killed, and 15 severely injured.
Seven minutes later, at 9.32pm, gunmen again emerged from a black Seat, killing five people dining in front of the Cafe Bonne Biere and La Casa Nostra pizzeria, just south of rue Alibert. Eight more were injured.
World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2021 The surface of Spain’s La Palma island is continuing to expand as lava from a volcano flows into the Atlantic Ocean and hardens when it comes into contact with the water, European Union scientists said Thursday. AP World news in pictures 29 September 2021 Pope Francis meets a group of seminarians during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican AP World news in pictures 28 September 2021 People camp overnight to receive a dose of Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine at a government run district hospital at midnight in Siliguri AFP via Getty Images World news in pictures 27 September 2021 People ride a motorcycle past burning tires during protests against the deteriorating economic situation and the devaluation of the local currency, in Taiz, Yemen Reuters World news in pictures 26 September 2021 Absentee ballots for the German general election are counted at the Frankfurt Messe hall Frankfurt am Main EPA World news in pictures 25 September 2021 Thai anti-government protesters have their eyes flushed out after being teargassed by police during a rally in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images World news in pictures 24 September 2021 German Chancellor Angela Merkel feeds Australian lorikeets at Marlow Bird Park in Marlow, Germany AP World news in pictures 23 September 2021 Workers sing and dance as a South African Airways airplane prepares to take off after a year-long hiatus triggered by the national airline running out of funds, at O R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg Reuters World news in pictures 22 September 2021 Seized rhino horns burn on a furnace in an anti-poaching drive to mark World Rhino Day near the Kaziranga National Park in Bokakhat AFP/Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2021 The full moon sets behind the hills of the Taunus region near Wehrheim, Germany AP World news in pictures 20 September 2021 A house burns due to lava from the eruption of a volcano in the Cumbre Vieja national park at Los Llanos de Aridane, on the Canary Island of La Palma Reuters World news in pictures 19 September 2021 Smoke and magma rise to the sky from the volcanic eruption in El Paso, La Palma, Canary Islands EPA World news in pictures 18 September 2021 The fully wrapped Arc de Triomphe monument, as part of an art installation entitled ‘L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped’ conceived by the late artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, is pictured on the Champs Elysees avenue in Pari Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2021 An Indonesian activist from ECOTON (ecological observation and wetland conservation) prepares an installation made with used plastic, including 4,444 bottles, collected from the river in Gresik to raise public awareness of plastic waste in rivers and oceans AFP/Getty World news in pictures 16 September 2021 An activist places photos of German politicians outside the Bundestag in protest against human rights violations at Europe’s borders EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2021 A zebra family at Alipore Zoo in Kolkata EPA World news in pictures 14 September 2021 A woman walks past a fruits and vegetables stall in a flooded street in Codognan, in the Occitanie region of southern France, following heavy rains AFP/Getty World news in pictures 13 September 2021 People hold umbrellas amid rainfall as Typhoon Chanthu approaches, in Shanghai, China Reuters World news in pictures 12 September 2021 US rapper Lil Nas X performs on stage during the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York AFP/Getty World news in pictures 11 September 2021 George Bush wells up at an event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stoystown, Pennsylvania Reuters World news in pictures 10 September 2021 A Taliban fighter lays his AK-47 rifle down during Friday prayers at a Mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan AP World news in pictures 9 September 2021 Paramilitary and public security forces take part in a parade to celebrate the 73rd founding anniversary of North Korea at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang KCNA via KNS/AFP/Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2021 A vendor pushes a cart of sugarcane juice past a fire at a demonstration in Bangkok as activists call for the resignation of Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha over the government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis AFP/Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2021 People take part in a religious procession on the occasion of the 417th anniversary of the installation of the Guru Granth Sahib, at the Gurudwara Ramsar in Amritsar AFP/Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2021 A dog sits on the doorway as a shopkeeper clears muddy water from his shop after heavy rainfall flooded the banks of Bishnumati river in Kathmandu, Nepal AP World news in pictures 5 September 2021 apan athletes wave as ‘Thank you’ in Japanese is displayed in the stadium during the closing ceremony of 2020 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony Reuters World news in pictures 4 September 2021 People demonstrate at the Zurich Pride parade with the slogan ‘Dare. Marriage for all, now!’, for the rights of the LGBTIQ community in Zurich, Switzerland. EPA World news in pictures 3 September 2021 China’s Dong Lu competes in the Women’s 200m individual medley final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games Getty World news in pictures 2 September 2021 People look at cars abandoned on the flooded Major Deegan Expressway following a night of extremely heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, in the Bronx borough of New York City Getty World news in pictures 1 September 2021 A one-legged stork rescued by an animal sanctuary eats fish with a new 3D-printed leg inside its enclosure near Frantiskovy Lazne, Czech Republic Reuters World news in pictures 31 August 2021 Women hold umbrellas to cover from rain as they wait to receive a dose of COVISHIELD vaccine in Kolkata, India Reuters World news in pictures 30 August 2021 Taliban fighters investigate a damaged car after multiple rockets were fired in Kabul AFP/Getty World news in pictures 29 August 2021 A Taliban fighter stands guard as Talibans acting Higher Education Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani (not pictured) addresses a gathering during a consultative meeting on Taliban’s general higher education policies at the Loya Jirga Hall in Kabu AFP/Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2021 A child that was evacuated from Afghanistan looks on at the U.S. airbase in Ramstein, Germany Reuters World news in pictures 27 August 2021 Soldiers take a selfie before a military parade in Chisinau, Moldova EPA World news in pictures 26 August 2021 Smoke rises from the site of a suspected suicide bombing outside Kabul airport in Afghanistan AP World news in pictures 25 August 2021 Egypt’s Ibrahim Elhusseiny Hamadtou in action during his Men’s Singles Class 6 Group E Table Tennis match at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA World news in pictures 24 August 2021 People take pictures of fireworks outside the stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 23 August 2021 Staff members spraying disinfectant at a school ahead of the new semester in Bozhou, China’s eastern Anhui province AFP/Getty World news in pictures 22 August 2021 A Taliban fighter stands guard at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan area in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan AP World news in pictures 21 August 2021 Mexican firefighters known as “Topos” work in the early morning hours in a search and rescue mission, amid the rubble from last week’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake, in Les Cayes, Haiti AP World news in pictures 20 August 2021 Bangladeshi vendor sells a religious item during a Muharram event at the premises of Hussaini Dalan in Dhaka, Bangladesh EPA World news in pictures 19 August 2021 Law enforcement officers with rifles take position near the US Capitol building in Washington DC as police investigate a possible explosive device in a truck near the heart of American government AP World news in pictures 18 August 2021 A Taliban fighter patrols in Wazir Akbar Khan in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan AP World news in pictures 17 August 2021 Art students paint messages of solidarity with people at risk in Afghanistan’s crisis outside an art school in Mumbai AFP/Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2021 Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport AFP via Getty World news in pictures 15 August 2021 Taliban fighters patrol inside the city of Kandahar province in southwest Afghanistan AP World news in pictures 14 August 2021 A collapsed building is seen in Les Cayes, Haiti following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake which left at least 29 people dead Reuters World news in pictures 13 August 2021 Perseids are seen next to Milky Way during the annual Perseid meteor shower at Tres Mares peak, in Cantabria, northern Spain EPA World news in pictures 12 August 2021 A woman sits along the broken steps of a partially-collapsed building destroyed by bombardment during the May 2021 conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City AFP via Getty
Shortly after, just south of the first shooting, two gunmen attacked those on the terrace of La Belle Equipe cafe, killing 19 people and critically injuring nine in an onslaught said by one witness to have lasted around three minutes, before escaping in the same make of vehicle.
At 9.40pm, a suicide bomb was detonated outside Cafe Voltaire, severely injuring one bystander.
Simultaneously, the worst was about to unfold at the other end of Boulevard Voltaire, as three men armed with grenades and Kalashnikov-type assault rifles – trained in combat by Isis in Syria and Iraq – burst into the two-storey ballroom of the Bataclan, where the the Eagles of Death Metal, an American rock band, were performing before a sold-out crowd of 1,500 people.
Ninety people were killed within minutes amid indiscriminate gunshot and explosions. Many sought hiding places, some underneath dead bodies, while others managed to flee the building, including one woman who dangled from a third-storey window.
A stand-off between police and gunmen, who had lined up hostages in front of the stage, lasted more than two hours, before elite security forces entered the concert hall shortly after midnight.
One gunman was shot, which caused his suicide belt to explode. The two others blew themselves up.
In the days that followed, police carried out hundreds of raids across the city, which entered three days of national mourning. After the attack was claimed by Isis as “the first of the storm”, Mr Hollande responded by declaring the terror onslaught an “act of war”.
People gather to observe a minute-silence at the Place de la Republique on 16 November 2015 (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
On 15 November of that year, France launched a series of retaliatory airstrikes on Isis’ de facto capital, the Syrian city of Raqqa, which marked a significant escalation of French military intervention in Syria.
At home, a state of emergency in France – initiated while the Bataclan attack was still underway – would last two years until it was replaced by president Emmanuel Macron with permanent new anti-terror laws, which human rights groups warned could harm citizens’ rights to liberty, security, freedom of assembly and religion.
Of the 10 attackers that night, only one survived – a 26-year-old French national, Salah Abdeslam. While his brother Brahim blew himself up in the attack outside Cafe Voltaire, Abdeslam’s role is less clear.
Having ditched his own suicide belt and abandoned the car he used to drop off the stadium attackers, he called two friends from Brussels for help. They drove through the night to pick him up. He slipped through three police checkpoints, and was finally arrested in Molenbeek in March, days before the Isis cell’s terror attacks on Brussels, which left 32 people dead.
Mohamed Abrini, who spent a night with the attackers in Paris but left for Belgium on 12 November, would accompany two suicide bombers to Brussels airport on 22 March but walk away before the bloodshed began. He was arrested in Anderlecht in April.
The two men, alongside 12 others accused of plotting and abetting the attack, will now stand trial in Paris.
