Overview

• Proceedings begin at the Maine-et-Loire cour d’assises with juror selection and the indictment, with a verdict scheduled for October 10.
• Prosecutors say he left after an initial alcohol-fueled clash, returned about an hour later with a 20 cm knife, killed three males aged 16, 18 and 20, and wounded three others, citing surveillance images.
• The defense says the accused has no memory of the night, attributing it to heavy drinking and complex post-traumatic stress disorder, and he will testify through an Arabic interpreter.
• A court-ordered psychiatric assessment reported altered discernment at the time of the facts, a finding central to criminal responsibility and potential sentencing.
• Authorities say he arrived in France in 2016, gained refugee status in 2018 that was revoked months after the killings, has been in pretrial detention, and is also charged with three attempted murders and sexual assaults, with prior convictions linked to intoxication.