Paris Terror Trial: Key Suspect Abdeslam Declares Allegiance to ISIS

At the opening of the hearing, President Jean-Louis Périès asked Salah Abdeslam to state his identity. "First of all, I want to say that there is no deity but Allah and Muhammad is his servant," declares the main accused in the trial of the November 13 attacks. The magistrate also invited him to state the identity of his parents, but was met with a categorical refusal. "The name of my father and mother has nothing to do with this story," he replied. "I have abandoned all profession to become a fighter of the Islamic State," adds the only surviving member of the November 13 terrorist commando. The Franco-Moroccan has been incarcerated at the Fleury-Mérogis (Essonne) detention center for more than five years.

After Salah Abdeslam, the 13 other accused - six are being tried in absentia - have stated their names, first names, addresses and occupations. According to Jean-Louis Périès, it is a "trial qualified in particular as historic, out of the ordinary". "Historic? Certainly. Because the facts we are going to examine are undoubtedly inscribed in the national and international events of our century," continues the president. "Out of the ordinary? Yes, given the number of participants, victims, civil parties, their counsel, and the experts called to the stand," he adds.

Claimed by the Islamic State, the November 13, 2015 attacks had left 130 dead.