The sentence imposed on self-styled jihadi Salah Abdeslam is the most rigorous in France, where the death penalty was abolished in 1981. It means that Abdeslam, 32, will spend the rest of his life in jail. read more
During a hearing in September, the Belgium-born Frenchman told the Paris court: "I gave up my job to become an Islamic State soldier."
During his trial, Abdeslam pleaded for forgiveness, claiming he was sorry that he and a number of other so-called Islamic State combatants butchered the Bataclan Nightclub and other Paris locations with bullets on a November, 2015 night.
His lawyer argued that since Abdelslam did not detonate the explosive vest he was wearing, unlike his terrorist cohorts, that was "proof" that the accused was not seeking to create mass murder.
The court was not impressed or moved by that thin argument.
In imposing Life Without Parole, the judge imposed the harshest sentence possible under French law.
