in this law firm in paris, samia is preparing 40 lawsuits filed by victims. >> [speaking french] reporterthe trial is expected to continue until at least the end of may next year. anchor: joining us via skype is andrew smith, a lecturer in contemporary politics. thank you for being with us. first of all, tell us a bit about who exactly will be on trial. andrew: there are about 20 defendants, people who have been involved in the orchestration of these attack i think 14 will be there in person, in custody. only one of the survivors -- i should say, perpetrators, survived police action during the attacks, and of course there were suicide bombings involved as well. some were tried in absentia, they are overseas, missing, captured or killed as a result of action with the so-called islamic state and so on. these are people tied up in the broader conspiracy. really important that we remember these are not soldiers on trial, not people in charge of a message, these are criminals on trial for their crimes against ordinary people of france, and heinous crimes. anchor: this trial is a must six years