Magnanville trial: the strong emotion of the families of the victims at the beginning of the second week

Jean-Baptiste Marty // Photo credit: Benoit PEYRUCQ / AFP 06h21, October 03, 2023

The second week of the trial of the attack of Magnanville opened before the Assize Court of Paris with the testimonies of the civil parties on Monday. A moment feared by the families of the two policemen coldly murdered at their home in June 2016 by an Islamist terrorist.

Family tears

With tears in her eyes, her fists clenched in front of her mouth, Valentine Salvaing, the sister of Jean-Baptiste Salvaing, the murdered policeman, listens attentively to the accounts of the first two witnesses. A difficult moment for her as Pauline Dufourq, her lawyer, explains: "We were all, whatever our position, very moved by their testimonies and their bravery. These are people who have behaved quite out of the ordinary and heroic so inevitably it arouses emotion."

Then, in a cathedral silence, the video claiming the terrorist is broadcast on the four screens of the room. Larosi Abballa, in his twenties, a bald and bearded man, films himself with a smile on his face. He pledges allegiance to the Islamic State, shows behind him the couple's young boy curled up on a sofa and frightened. A still trying moment for the families of the victims. Some members look down.

>> READ ALSO - Seven years later, what happened to the child of the police couple killed in the Magnanville attack?

A child well surrounded

The day ended with the testimony of Valentine Salvaing, the aunt of the young boy now orphaned by his parents. She has custody of it. Between sobs, she talks about a 10-year-old child who is growing up well even though he misses his parents so much. Followed by a psychologist, his entourage speaks of a boy who has a very good education and who is dedicated in what he does.