5. “Notebooks full of tears”

During the first five weeks of the trial, it was first the victims of the attacks of November 13, 2015 who were called to the stand. Ms. Olivia Ronen has, for the moment, no need to intervene but she wants to be present. On the defense bench, she confides that she is very marked by these stories, these broken destinies. She rarely allows herself to let emotion invade her. Sometimes it's unavoidable. Numerous testimonies from survivors echo the lawyer's life: some are of the same age group as her, frequent the same places, sometimes have studied the same studies. How can you not identify with these stories? Humanly, Olivia Ronen feels connected to these victims. But professionally, she says she feels in her place, on the defense side. When a witness attacks her personally, she wants to point out: everyone has the right to a defense, even for the worst crimes. But for her too, like everyone present in the room, these weeks are morally very difficult. How does the lawyer manage to move beyond her emotions? In this episode of the podcast "The Terrorist", Me Olivia Ronen confides for the very first time her feelings regarding the testimonies of the victims during her client's trial to the microphone of Noémie Schulz, legal journalist, also present at the trial. 

The podcast “The terrorist” is produced by Europe 1 Studio.

[On June 29, 2022, Salah Abdeslam was convicted by the Paris Special Assize Court for his participation in the terrorist attacks of November 13, 2015. He did not appeal. His sentence, irreducible life imprisonment, is final. This podcast is therefore not intended to repeat the trial. It's about telling it from a unique point of view, that of Salah Abdeslam's lawyer, Me. Olivia Ronen.]

Credits

Journalist: Noémie Schulz

Director: Christophe Daviaud with Clément Ibrahim

Production: Fannie Rascle with Camille Bichler

Writing and distribution: Lisa Soster

Original Music: Sandy Lavallart

Musical Supervision: The Supervision

Visual: Sidonie Mangin with Axelle Maurel