Disturbing footage of an Islamic State terrorist blowing himself to pieces in a Paris restaurant has been broadcast for the first time in France.

The images of the death of Brahim Abdeslam, 31, were captured by CCTV cameras at the Comptoir Voltaire brasserie on November 13 last year.

It was the night that an IS cell brought carnage to the French capital, murdering 130 people at a number of venues across the city. 

Abdeslam, a French passport holder who was brought up in Brussels, is seen walking into the restaurant at 9.40pm, on a warm Friday night.

Looking ashen faced and nervous, he wanders through the door after being dropped off by a car outside.

The terrorist walks towards an empty table, before lowering his head, covering his head with his left hand, and then detonating his suicide belt.

There is a puff of white smoke, and Abdeslam's torso can momentarily be seen separating from the lower half of his body.

He is killed instantly but - incredibly - others sitting around him escaped with relatively minor injuries.

There was so little left of Abdeslam's body, that forensic officers had to rely on a tiny portion of finger print to identity him.

The M6 channel in France took the decision to broadcast the footage on Sunday night, on the 'Zone Interdite' (Forbidden Zone) programme.

Film was then released to the French media, with a warning that it was not suitable for young children, and then appeared on numerous news and social media sites.