France on Thursday commemorated the 10th anniversary of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, which left 130 people dead and hundreds injured in one of the darkest nights in the country’s modern history.
Survivors, relatives of victims, and national leaders gathered to honor the memory of those lost in the Islamic State-led rampage that forever scarred the French nation.
The coordinated assaults, the deadliest on French soil since World War II, struck at the heart of Parisian life.
Suicide bombers detonated explosives outside the Stade de France stadium, where then-President François Hollande and the German foreign minister were attending a soccer match.
Soon after, heavily armed militants opened fire on people dining and socializing at several cafés and restaurants before storming the Bataclan concert hall, where the rock band Eagles of Death Metal was performing.
President Emmanuel Macron led the day’s memorial events, beginning at the Stade de France before proceeding to the other attack sites, including the Bataclan.
Families of victims, first responders, and survivors joined in moments of silence and wreath-laying ceremonies to remember those who perished and the courage of those who helped.
At the Bataclan, survivor Sébastien Lascoux recalled the horror of that night. “People ended up all squashed together and collapsed as one,” he said. “And then there was the smell of blood.”
One of his friends was shot dead while shielding another, saving her life. A decade later, Lascoux still suffers from post-traumatic stress, unable to stand loud noises or crowded spaces.
“What made the November 13 attacks unique was that everyone was a potential victim,” noted historian Denis Peschanski, emphasizing how the tragedy touched all generations of French society.
Catherine Bertrand, another Bataclan survivor and vice president of a victims’ association, said the trauma remains profound.
“We are all deeply marked by that evening, and our thoughts, of course, turn to the victims and their loved ones,” she said. “But life goes on, there are concerts at the Bataclan again, and we meet with friends at the same cafés.”
In the years since the attacks, France has overhauled its security architecture. Emergency counterterrorism measures introduced after 2015 have become permanent fixtures of French law.
While security officials say the threat from organized jihadist groups has diminished, online radicalization remains a persistent concern.
Just this week, anti-terrorism prosecutors opened an investigation into the former partner of the sole surviving perpetrator of the 2015 attacks, underscoring that the shadows of that night still linger.
Ten years on, the commemorations serve both as remembrance and resilience, a reminder of the pain endured, and of France’s determination that terror will never silence its spirit.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
