Anyone who has seen this scene will never forget it: a pregnant woman hanging outside the window of the Parisian club Bataclan. He threatened to fall into the depths. With the last of his strength, he held on to the ledge. The tips of his toes were already gripping a bit, but it was clear he couldn’t hold on for long. The woman cried: “Please, please, I’ll let go. I can’t take it anymore. I’m pregnant.” Below him, people ran screaming in fear of death. Someone dragged a lifeless body through the street. A journalist accidentally filmed the horrific scene and posted it online. It is a testament to contemporary horror.
It was November 13 2015, Paris was attacked by ISIS terrorists. It started with an explosion at the Stade de France in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, during the German national team’s friendly match against France. A murderer blew himself up. Other terrorists then went on a killing spree in the French capital, killing people in bars and restaurants, and finally shooting innocent clubgoers at the Bataclan. Fear of death in Paris it went on for hours, people ran screaming through the streets, corpses lined the sidewalks. 130 people died.
Pregnant woman on windowsill congratulations. Her name: Charlotte. He probably wouldn’t be able to do it alone. But that night a Bataclan visitor, an ordinary man, became a hero. While he was at the front Terrorist As he flees through the building, he sees Charlotte hanging from a window and risks his life to help her. He pulled her, saving her and her unborn child. Then they were lost in the darkness of the night.
State of emergency on November 13 in the French capital: A police officer secures the streets
Charlotte kept quiet for ten years and didn’t want to go public – until now. On the 10th anniversary of the Bataclan massacre, French newspaper Le Monde published an interview with him and his rescuers. His name is Sébastien and he is now the godfather of her child – the child she carried in her womb while he was hanging from the window.
Charlotte recalled in Le Monde how she fled from terrorists through the Bataclan 10 years ago, how she saw the open window and rushed out in panic. “I thought I could limit my fall by holding on, but it was too high and I quickly realized I wouldn’t be able to hold on for long,” said Charlotte.
Sébastien pulled Charlotte from a Bataclan window in November 2015, just before she lost her footing and fell into the depths.
He ran over the corpses frantically
Sébastien also escapes from the terrorists; he crashes through the corpses in a panic and flees across the stage when a terrorist is reloading his gun. He recalled: “There were two windows in front of me. A pregnant woman was hanging from one of the windows, begging the people below to catch her if she jumped. There was chaos downstairs. I climbed through the other window and held on to the ventilation shaft.
I was 15 meters above the ground. I held on for five minutes, then the woman, unable to take it any longer, asked me to help her back inside. So I did.”
Injured and frightened people in Paris on November 13, 2015
Flowers and candles for the victims of the attack in front of the Bataclan club in 2015
Sébastien himself was then taken hostage by terrorists and experienced a traumatic scene when someone was shot right next to him. He was finally released when French security forces stormed the building. The next day, Charlotte looked for her savior on X (when it was still Twitter). The two found each other digitally and exchanged phone numbers.
Sébastien and Charlotte 20250. He said about her: “She is my sister in battle”
He attended her wedding and became godfather to her child. Charlotte refuses to see the terrorist attacks as part of her life. He said: “The Bataclan is not part of my life, but Sébastien is.”
“Without this story I am nothing”
Sébastien said: “Each time he gave me a hundred times more than I gave him. The actions I took to save him were for myself. I needed him. It put me back in touch with my feelings. I began to understand that happiness lies in sharing. Without this story, I would be nothing.” The good deed not only saved the lives of Charlotte and her baby, but also his own: “I became a hero. I finally became the good person I always wanted to be,” says Sébastien.
Saying they became friends was not the right term. In French, Sébastien refers to Charlotte as “Sœur d’arme,” meaning “my sister in battle.” That night they both fought for their lives. And they won the fight together.
