Two Paris students hug each other. Amandine, a mother, lights a candle for her 4-year-old son, which she then removes from her shoulder. “This is to remember those who have gone,” he whispered to her. Michael, an American in his sixties, placed a bouquet of flowers. A man kneels and prays. Night fell on the Place de la République (3, 10, 11) this Thursday evening as thousands of people gathered around his statue.
An idiosyncratic address to political and social demands, the 3.4 ha Paris square was transformed into a place of contemplation ten years after the 13 November 2015 attacks that claimed the lives of 132 people. At the base of the monument there are thousands of candles and flowers. Many people waited to enter the square, which was surrounded by barriers and access was controlled by police.
