Republican justice and the dark shroud of fundamentalist Islam

A commemorative plaque on the pavement in front the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, where armed jihadists killed some 90 people on the night of 13 November 2015. AFP - THOMAS SAMSON

On Wednesday, the Special Criminal Court where the Paris terror trial is taking place listened to the closing arguments of lawyers representing the survivors and the families of victims, and those who chose not to join the collective presentation organised last week by dozens of their colleagues.

They spoke on behalf of bereaved families, of orphans, of those who escaped physical injury but don't have the emotional resources to appear themselves.