France says $97 million paid to victims of 2015 terror attacks
Additional $245 million in compensation expected to be distributed over Paris carnage, in which suicide bombers and gunmen killed 130 people
PARIS (AFP) — Victims and relatives of the 130 people killed by jihadist attackers in and around Paris in November 2015 have received 85 million euros ($97 million) in compensation to date, the fund managing the payments said Tuesday.
The terrorists targeted the Stade de France stadium with suicide bombs, while gunmen also stormed the Bataclan theater and targeted patrons at cafes and restaurants in eastern Paris on November 13, 2015.
The terrorists killed 130 people and injured hundreds more. As of November 1, 2,625 people have lodged claims and received payouts over lost relatives or injuries or trauma suffered during the terror attacks at the football stadium and the Bataclan.
Of those, 856 cases have been fully settled, meaning their physical or psychological health has “stabilized,” Julien Rencki, head of the FGTI compensation fund for terror victims, said at a press conference Tuesday.
In total, the fund expects to pay compensation of some 300 million euros ($342 million), after 70 new claims were filed since January, “two and a half years after the November 13 attacks,” Rencki said.
The fund has also had to deal with a number of false claims over the attacks by people falsely claiming to be victims.
Last month, a 33-year-old woman who lied about being injured by gunfire at one of the bars was sentenced to six months in jail.
Rencki said the fund also expected to pay out 200-250 million euros ($228-285 million) for victims of the Bastille Day in the southern French city of Nice in July 2016, when a jihadist attacker ploughed his truck into a crowd of thousands, killing 86 people.
France has been on high alert following a series of deadly jihadist attacks in recent years, often by people who have become radicalized or claim to have acted in the name of the Islamic State.
More than 240 people have been killed by Islamist extremists since a massacre at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris in January 2015.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
