Kim Kardashian relives trauma from Paris robbery

Kim Kardashian says she thought she would be raped and killed the night she was robbed at gunpoint in Paris, a trauma she was forced to relive as she returned to France nearly a decade later to testify against the men accused of the attack.

The 45-year-old media personality spoke emotionally about the incident in the latest episode of The Kardashians, which followed her back to Paris for the long-awaited trial of the suspects behind the 2016 robbery that shocked the world.

Kardashian revealed that as she lay bound and gagged that night, face covered with tape and guns pointed at her, the only thing running through her mind was the survival of her young children.

“My instant reaction was: I have babies… please don’t kill me. They can take whatever they want,” she recalled.

Kardashian was in Paris for Fashion Week when the crime took place. She had returned early to her private residence while her sisters and security team went out to a nightclub. Moments later, men disguised in police uniforms stormed inside.

They forced the building’s concierge to lead them to her room, where they tied her wrists and ankles with zip ties, then taped her mouth and eyes.

Kardashian said her fear of sexual assault surged before the robbers began searching for valuables.

“I kept asking the concierge, ‘Are we going to die?’” she said. “I thought that was it.”

Her longtime friend Simone Harouche, who hid in another part of the apartment, said she feared the worst as she listened to Kardashian scream.

The criminal case has taken nearly nine years to reach trial. French authorities spent five years gathering evidence before delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2024 Paris Olympics stalled the process further.

Kim Kardashian said she feels “good” to finally face the accused men in court, five charged with carrying out the robbery and five others accused of helping them.

“I just want to tell my story and get it over with,” she said. “In 2016, my life changed forever.”

Beyond the financial loss, including a $4 million engagement ring, she says the real damage was mental. Years of fear followed, including sleeping with security nearby and avoiding wearing expensive jewellery in public.

One of the accused robbers, Yunice Abbas, previously admitted having “no guilt” over the attack, though he acknowledged the lasting trauma inflicted.

“You don’t come out of it unscathed,” he said in a media interview.

Supported by her mother Kris Jenner and Harouche, Kardashian’s return to Paris is her attempt to close one of the most painful chapters of her life.

The trial is expected to continue into the coming weeks, as the world watches to see whether justice long delayed will finally be served.