Chief defendant Abdeslam found guilty

In the case concerning the Islamist terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015, 20 defendants were sentenced on Wednesday. The prime suspect, Salah Abdeslam, was found guilty of murder and attempted murder. He is facing life in prison.

The decision was eagerly awaited. In the early hours of the day, long queues formed in front of the courthouse, where intense security measures were taken.

For nine months the process included a series of attacks on 13 September.
Convened in November 2015. At that time, extremists killed 130 people and injured 350. They massacred the Bataclan concert hall, spreading terror in the bars and restaurants.

Three suicide bombers blew themselves up during an international football match between Germany and France at the Stade de France. In the evening, an assassin was shot dead by the police. Others died in a police operation a few days later.

The terrorist organization Islamic State (ID) claimed responsibility for the attacks. Abdeslam received the most attention in the case. The prosecutor sees the 32-year-old Frenchman as the key figure in the attacks.

The attacks changed French society forever. Many saw them as an attack on the French way of life. Unlike previous attacks against certain professions or sects, no one seemed safe after the night of terror. The prosecution was also convinced during the trial that the extremists didn’t care who they killed.

The series of terror affects the social life as well as the personal interruptions in the health, work, family and social lives of those affected: More police and soldiers are seen on the streets. As terrorism is no longer just organized from outside but also based on internal forces, experts see the danger of further division in an already divisive society.