A woman touches the commemorative plaque at the entrance of the Bataclan concert hall in Paris on Tuesday, during a ceremony held for the victims of the Paris attacks of November 2015, which targeted the Bataclan and a series of bars, killing 130 people. Photo: AFP

Salah Abdeslam, a self-avowed Islamic State combatant, told a court on Wednesday that he had backed out of detonating his explosive vest during the jihadist rampage across Paris in November 2015 that killed 130 people.

A French national of Moroccan origin, Abdeslam said he had pledged allegiance to Islamic State 48 hours before the Paris attacks, the deadliest in postwar France, but that he had harmed no one.

"I experienced a situation that not many people have experienced, people who took a step back, who changed their minds," Abdeslam, 32, told the court.

"You're there in prison, you say to yourself, 'I should have triggered the thing.' That's what you think when you're in solitary confinement."

Investigators believe Abdeslam is the lone surviving member of the Islamist commando that carried out the synchronized gun and bomb attacks on six restaurants and bars, the Bataclan concert hall and national soccer stadium.

They allege his explosive vest failed to detonate and that hours later he fled the French capital. He was arrested in Belgium in 2016 and has been held in jail since.

Dressed in a crisp white shirt and with two armed police standing close behind him, Abdeslam told the court he was not responsible for any deaths.

"I wanted to say today that I did not kill anyone and I did not hurt anyone. Not even a scratch," Abdeslam said in a short address to the court before questioning began.

"It's important for me to say this, because since the beginning of this case, people have not stopped slandering me."

Among the 20 defendants, Abdeslam is the only one to be directly accused of murder, attempted murder and hostage taking.

Abdeslam told the court he had been drawn to Islamic State out of compassion for the Syrian people rather than any religious views, and said the West imposed its rules and values on others.

Abdeslam said he had never traveled to Syria. However, he acknowledged that he admired the willingness of Islamic State militants to sacrifice themselves daily. He was not a danger to society, he told the court.

Reuters