Nice attack trial: the tragic story of Laura's family
A lawyer in front of the broadcast room set up for civil parties and lawyers in Nice, on the sidelines of the trial of the July 2016 attacks being held in Paris, on September 5, 2022, opening day (photo illustration).
AFP - VALERY HACHE
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
At the trial of the July 14 attack in Nice, it was the second day, this Wednesday, September 21, devoted to the hearing of civil parties.
Among them: the relatives of Laura, killed at 13, whose body remained unidentified for a long time.
For more than two hours, four members of his family followed one another at the helm to recount the shock of the attack, the ordeal of the three days spent without being fixed on his fate, and the devastating effect of the tragedy on their home.
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With our special correspondent at the Paris courthouse,
Laura Martel
Their family has "
dislocated
", they confide.
That evening, on the Promenade, “
Laura kisses me on the neck, says to me '
mom, I love you
' and I kiss her back.
At least, we had this exchange
, ”breath Marie-Claude.
A few seconds later, the truck is there.
"
I push my little one to the side, but suddenly I can't see her anymore
," recalls her mother.
For his father, it's the black hole.
“
Maybe without that, I could have saved her
,” mopes Jacques.
To find his daughter, he screams her name until he loses his voice.
With his injured wife, they go from body to body.
In vain.
The next day, they are asked for a DNA sample.
Literally mad with anguish, they are hospitalized.
It is therefore to Nicolas, 16, and especially to Lucie, 19, who were not on the Promenade, that the rest falls on this family.
To them the cruel disappointments of false leads from social networks.
To them the brutal announcement of a commissioner on July 17: “
The good news is that we have found her, the bad news is that she is dead.
»
They too were in shock, in the psychiatric hospital: “
My father was lying down, his tears were flowing, but he was not responding.
My mother was screaming that we had to give Laura back to her.
She grabbed me by the collar, it got a little out of hand
, ”says Lucie.
Pain, guilt, blame... the family implodes.
Lucie suffered from the burden of responsibilities that prevented her from experiencing her own loss.
Nicolas fled this city too full of memories.
“
We no longer understood each other
”, regrets Marie-Claude.
As for Jacques, he can no longer look at Audrey, Laura's twin, who chose to testify later, alone.
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Terrorism
Nice attack
Justice
France