Eight accused of stealing Banksy tribute to Bataclan victims go on trial

FILE PHOTO: A mural by anonymous British street artist Banksy stolen from the Bataclan theatre in Paris and found in a farmhouse in central Italy is seen during the ceremony to return to France at the French embassy in Rome, Italy. July 14, 2020. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

PARIS (Reuters) - Seven Frenchmen and an Italian go on trial in Paris on Wednesday for stealing a work by graffiti artist Banksy that had been sprayed onto an emergency door of the Bataclan theatre in Paris to honour victims of the November 2015 attacks.

In June 2018, Banksy created a mural of a veiled female figure in a mournful pose on a fire exit door of the concert venue, where 90 people were killed in attacks by Islamist gunmen that caused 130 fatalities in Paris and its outskirts.