"We had never seen that ... We had never seen that," breathes the Parisian police officer, his voice choked with emotion. Bald head, piercing blue eyes, beard of a few days, Patrick Bourbotte, 51, responsible for coordinating the investigation book, Friday, September 17, a moving story. For more than two and a half hours, the policeman exposes in great detail the elements of the first observations that he carried out with his team just a few hours after the attack which killed 90 people at the Bataclan. In an introductory statement, the police officer apologizes in advance for the emotion that could appear during his testimony.  

In front of a silent room, almost collected, the policeman then recounts the macabre course of the night from November 13 to 14. At 5.45 am, when he enters the auditorium, the criminal police investigator finds that it is not a crime scene as he is used to, "but a scene of war". What he discovers is “quite indescribable”, comparable to “an air crash.” On the ground floor, at the level of the pit is “almost all of the bodies”. "The atmosphere is striking, gloomy, cold. The light is white which makes the place pale. The ceilings are very high, it gives the appearance of a cathedral". And the investigator continues, "We are walking on clotted blood, all over teeth, flesh. Phones are vibrating.We step over bodies and bodies and bodies. "The policeman's phone keeps ringing too. Families trying to reach him to get news of a loved one present at the concert. At that moment, he decides not to drop out and focuses on her investigation. '

02:16

"Twenty-two seconds. An eternity" 

Then the witness indicates that he will project visual documents necessary for the proper understanding of the investigation. The president of the court Jean-Louis Périès once again warns the civil parties present in the room, and those who listen to the webradio, of the start of the dissemination of these sensitive documents so that everyone can make their own arrangements. Shots of the concert hall are projected onto a large white screen. Some targeted photos, like parts of an explosive belt, one of the terrorists' cars, bolts, an image of the toilet broken "by the" survival instinct "of those who fled through the attic. 'escapes the court. The "bloody" bullets, the three Kalashnikovs found, the key to the jihadists' car, the "intact" head of an assailant whois detonated, found on the stage, body parts scattered around the room. The shield of the BRI assault in the lodge where the hostages were held. The color of the toilet "blue-green that disappears under the dried blood". 

Then comes the broadcasting of the sound recording, not in its entirety, but a short extract captured on a dictaphone which was in the room.

We call back the psychological support number.

Some civil parties leave the room.

"Twenty-two seconds. An eternity. But they are necessary", comments the policeman.

We hear the music of the Eagles of death metal quickly interrupted by bursts of fire.

The recording is cut, silence.  

Me Eric Barbolosi, lawyer for the civil party, describes a courtroom seized with fear.

# AttacksDu13Novembre pic.twitter.com/yd67N4QisP

- Aude Abback-Mazoué (@audemazoue) September 17, 2021

"Get up or I'll kill you!"

The narrator picks up the thread of his story and reveals a few words vociferated by the terrorists, which can be heard on the 2h38 recording. "I will slip my voice into that of the terrorists, which is not the easiest thing to do." In a loud voice, he blurted out “Hide or I shoot! Get up or I kill you!”, “Why are you bombing our brothers in Syria? We came here to do the same. Come here you, come We're going to bomb you here on earth. We don't need planes. " "I warned you not to move ... Do you know Daesh, the Islamic State?". 

A rant as a conclusion. "I want to send a message. Do not listen to these truth tellers, these people on the 24-hour news channels, who give you truths they have not encountered. We are high enough in barbarism so as not to add to it. " Before attacking certain police officers and magistrates. "I also regret that police officers and magistrates allow themselves to have a very clear opinion on what they would have done if they had been in charge". Finally, his last message is naturally addressed to the victims. "I wholeheartedly join the civil parties, and I wish them a lot of courage for the continuation of the trial," concludes the investigator, his voice choked by a sob.  

A victim of the Bataclan who came to understand the facts unfolded in an objective way, in a therapeutic framework.

# AttacksDu13Novembre pic.twitter.com/5IZdM0NySj

- Aude Abback-Mazoué (@audemazoue) September 17, 2021

"A room seized with dread"

The hearing is suspended.

The civil parties take the opportunity to breathe.

Recover from their emotions.

A victim who wears a red cordon, a sign that she does not wish to speak to the media, finally lends herself to the exercise.

She went out while the audio document was playing, but she was able to listen attentively to the police officer's story.

"It was important for me to hear the facts in a neutral way because over time and emotion, the facts got mixed up. It is also for me a therapeutic approach", confides the young woman with the purple hair.  

"It's hard not to be won over by the emotion that emerges from the room, adds Me Eric Barbolosi, civil party lawyer, during the suspension of the session. It is hard for the civil parties, especially for those who have lost We can hear sobs escaping. We have a room that is seized with fear and all those who come to testify, even the police, are overcome by emotion. " 

Bruno, a survivor of the Bataclan, believes that there "should have been stronger and harder images in the name of memory work." # AttentatsDu13Novembre pic.twitter.com/0M0SBBApNR

- Aude Abback-Mazoué (@audemazoue) September 17, 2021

Despite everything, some civil parties, like Bruno, survivor of the Bataclan, regret that the investigator "did not show stronger, harder images" because "we are all living a work of memory . And to tell the story, you have to go to the depths of the subject.

Perhaps in the next testimonies of victims?

The trial has only just begun.

The hearing must resume Monday with the findings at the bar of the Beautiful team, where 21 people were killed. 

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