From the Stade de France to the bistros of Paris to the Bataclan : 10 years after the ISIS jihadist massacres , which caused the death of 132 people in Paris, France stops and Paris recalls those hours of terror.
A friendly match between the French and German national teams, a hard rock concert, and crowds of young people gathered at bistro tables on a still-warm Friday evening: that November 13th is remembered today with deep thought by an entire country, close to the victims, their families, and the survivors.
"The terrorists wanted to attack this culture of Paris, made of joy, celebration, and sharing ," Mayor Anne Hidalgo said. "They wanted to make us lose all of this. We have rebuilt it with a form of gravity."
President Emmanuel Macron confirmed his presence at each of the attack sites, followed by the inauguration of the Garden on November 13, 2015, next to the Hôtel de Ville, the most symbolic moment of this day of commemoration.
The opening ceremony, coordinated by Thierry Reboul, who also oversaw the opening of the 2024 Paris Olympics, was projected on a giant screen in Place de la République. Ten years later, all Parisians were invited to bring their remembrance—a flower, a candle, a note—to a makeshift memorial in the square.
The commemorations took place under tight security, with the terrorist threat still assessed as "high" by the authorities.
At 11:30 a.m., a tribute will be paid to Manuel Dias, the only victim of the failed attack at the Stade de France. At 12:30 p.m., commemorative plaques will be unveiled in front of two of the bistros targeted by Islamist terrorists, the Carillon and the Petit Cambodge (13 dead). At 1 p.m., a minute of silence will be held for the five victims at the La Bonne Bière bar, followed by a half-hour later in front of the former Comptoir Voltaire. Ceremonies will then be held, with wreaths and bouquets laid in front of La Belle Equipe, where 21 people were killed, and then at the Bataclan (90 dead). From 6 p.m., the inauguration ceremony of the Garden will be accompanied by music, "the passion" of the victims, as Reboul recalled.
