Bernard Cazeneuve in 2013 in Paris.

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VINCENT WARTNER / 20 Minutes

Lawyers for civil parties demanded this Thursday the hearing of former Minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve at the trial of the January 2015 attacks, deeming his testimony necessary to "understand" whether there were any flaws in the surveillance

Charlie Hebdo

policewoman

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"Since the start of the debates, my clients have the impression that part of the story" has "been forgotten", declared before the Assize Court Antoine Conte, lawyer for the writer Philippe Lançon, of the emergency physician Patrick Pelloux and the widow of designer Tignous.

"We should hear a politician"

Among these points marked by "gray areas": "the way in which the protection of the premises of" Charlie Hebdo "was made and perhaps defeated at the time of the attack", at a time when France was " involved in the international coalition fighting against Daesh ”.

For this reason, "we should hear from a politician," continued Me Antoine Conte, asking the court "to order the appearance of Mr. Cazeneuve", Minister of the Interior at the time of the facts, to "understand the things that were missing in January 2015 ”.

"There is no controversy in the request that I am making", the situation requiring "that we understand" and "that we scratch", added the lawyer, supported by several civil parties, including the lawyer of Maryse Wolinski, widow of one of the cartoonists killed in the attack.

A "very tight" schedule

Invited to comment on this request, the representative of the prosecution proposed that instead be heard "the operational managers" of the police services then in charge of the protection of personalities and the protection of sensitive sites.

The lawyer for one of the accused, Me Christian Saint-Palais, said for his part not to oppose this hearing "provided that the schedule" allows the accused to "defend themselves under suitable conditions. ".

“The schedule is already very tight,” he added.

The president of the special assize court, Régis de Jorna, said he would communicate his decision later.

Bernard Cazeneuve, Minister of the Interior from 2014 to 2016, then Prime Minister until 2017, told in a book published at the end of 2019 (“A test of violence”) his experience of the attacks of January 2015, which killed 17 people.

Since his departure from Matignon, he has left politics and now works as a lawyer.

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