Haunted by the carnage: French gendarmes testify before Paris attacks trial

FILE PHOTO: A commemorative plaque for the victims of Paris' November 2015 attacks is seen near the bar and restaurant previously named Comptoir Voltaire in Paris, France, September 1, 2021. Twenty defendants will stand the trial of Paris' November 2015 attacks from September 8, 2021 to May 25, 2022 at Paris courthouse on the Ile de la Cite, with nearly 1,800 civil parties, more than 300 lawyers, hundreds of journalists and large-scale security challenges. Picture taken September 1, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

PARIS (Reuters) - Six years after a group of Islamist bombers and gunmen attacked Paris, gendarmes who were on duty that night told a court on Tuesday that they were still haunted by the sound of explosions, images of human flesh and the smell of blood.

Three suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the Stade de France where the national soccer team was playing Germany as other Islamic State militants struck bars, restaurants and a concert hall in the capital's centre on Nov. 13, 2015.