Trial of the assassination of Samuel Paty: “He was killed and our lives were ruined”, for the first time, the victim's family speaks to the accused

“Samuel Paty is not just a name, he is a man who was assassinated. It was not a flag, he was a father, a son, a brother and he was my uncle”spoke Salomé, niece of Samuel Paty, brutally murdered on October 16, 2020, before the special assize court of Paris (Île-de-France), this Friday, November 8, cited by TFIwhose journalists are present at the trial.

“He was never a hero. He never wanted to hate and he was killed. He was killed and our lives were ruined.”she continued, upset to have learned the news through the media and networks, the name of her uncle attached to the word “decapitated”, the day after the tragedy.

“A well of science” and silence

The family of Samuel Paty has continued to praise the murdered professor, calling him a “well of science” but also silence. “Samuel never spoke about the difficulties he experienced on October 5 (after the course he gave on freedom of expression, Editor's note)”, explains Mickaëlle Patty, the sister of the murdered teacher. Her ex-partner, Jeanne, who had a child with the teacher, was unaware of her alsoi “all problems” who undermined the father of their son, Gabriel, 9 years old, present at the bar, like the professor's mother, Bernadette Paty who insists on her son's discretion. “He wanted to protect us”she emphasizes.

“Of justice, that of justice”

From now on, the family of the deceased asks only one thing: “truth and justice”. “This is what Gabriel asks for his dad“, concludes Jeanne, like Samuel Patty's sister, Gaëlle, who evokes “unspeakable pain” and who thinks above all of Gabriel and his parents “who lost a son in atrocious conditions”. To the accused, she asks “answers, justice, only justice and answers that match the challenge”. “I would never accept the slightest excuse from people who do not recognize their responsibility […] I ask for respect and decency in this trial, I would like to tell the accused that without you, Samuel would be here today. Everyone, at your level, could have stopped this disastrous spiral.”

“I am terrified that my family will be attacked again”

The family, deeply upset for four years, does not hide its concerns. “I am terrified that my family will be attacked again”said Zoé, 19, the niece of Samuel Paty, who, since the attack, has been consulting psychiatrists and psychologists. She's depressed and hasn't slept for four years, she says. “After Samu’s death, I didn’t sleep a single minute for a whole week […] I'm terrified that my family will be attacked again.”
The teacher's parents have been struggling, since the assassination of their son, to get their heads above water. But they see this trial as a healing process, waiting for each defendant to be found guilty “and that the punishments are appropriate”, declared Bernadette Paty in a firm voice.