France Commemorates 10th Anniversary Of Paris Terrorist Attacks

Paris: A decade after the deadliest terrorist attacks in its history, France honours the memory of the 132 victims who lost their lives on 13 November 2015, in a consecutive series of coordinated jihadist assaults that has scarred the nation irreparably. The commemorations this Thursday will assemble survivors, families of victims, and state officials in Paris and Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris for a day of collective remembrance, unity, solidarity, fortitude and resilience.

On that ominous Friday the 13^th ten years ago, three Islamist commando units carried out simultaneous attacks across the French capital. The terror strikes began near the football stadium, Stade de France in Saint-Denis, where three suicide bombers attempted to enter the stadium during an international match between France and Germany attended by then-President François Hollande. Upon being denied entry, they detonated their explosive vests outside, killing Manuel Dias and injuring around ten others. Dias is now remembered as the first victim of that night.

Around the same time, a second group of attackers opened fire on several cafés in Paris’s 10th and 11th arrondissements; neighbourhoods that are synonymous with the city’s vibrant nightlife and youthful spirit. The shootings targeted Le Carillon, Le Petit Cambodge, La Bonne Bière, Casa Nostra, and La Belle Équipe, leaving 39 people dead and 32 gravely injured. Another bomber detonated his vest outside Le Comptoir Voltaire, but none were killed. The restaurant has been renamed Les Ogres ever since.

The third and the bloodiest attack occurred at the Bataclan concert hall, where American rock band Eagles of Death Metal was performing where 90 people were massacred and dozens more seriously wounded as terrorists opened fire on the crowd and took hostages. The siege ended only after elite special police squads stormed the venue, killing the terrorists, finally putting an end to the carnage. In the years that followed, the harrowing ordeal endured by survivors claimed two more lives; Guillaume Valette, a young chemist, and comic book artist Fred Dewilde. They committed suicide.

This Thursday’s commemorations begin late in the morning at Stade de France, where a tribute will be paid to Manuel Dias and those injured in the initial explosions. Ceremonies will then move through the city making a halt at each site that witnessed the horrors. This solemn day’s memorial journey will conclude at 2:30 p.m. outside the Bataclan with French President Emmanuel Macron, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, and victims’ associations 13onze15 and Life for Paris in attendance.

Throughout the evening most of the iconic Parisian monuments including the Eiffel Tower, City Hall, Place de la République will be illuminated in blue, white, and red, the colours of the French flag, as symbols of remembrance and unity. The City of Paris has called upon Parisians to visit the Place de la République to light candles, lay flowers, or leave messages in memory of the victims.

A poignant highlight of the day will be the inauguration of the “13 November 2015 Garden” this evening in central Paris. Macron, Hidalgo, Philippe Duperron of 13onze15, and Arthur Dénouveaux of Life for Paris are expected to speak during the ceremony. Life for Paris will also formally dissolve on the same day, following a decision by its members to move forward “without being locked into the status of victims,” Dénouveaux explained.

Over and above official tributes, Paris will host several events over the weekend, including a commemorative mural in the 11th arrondissement and two solidarity races organized by the French Association of Victims of Terrorism.

These commemorations come as the world once again confronts the grim shadow of terrorism. Just three days ago, a deadly bomb blast near the Red Fort in India’s capital, New Delhi killed several people and injured dozens more, jolting India yet again with echoes of extremist violence that is still an open wound on Paris’ soul. The close timing of the two jihadi crimes separated by a decade but united by anger and grief in November brings forth a sombre truth, that the fight against extremism remains a shared global struggle, and remembrance is a universal act of resistance and a universal reaffirmation of the values that the attackers seek to destroy.