France has been preparing for weeks for this painful moment and, at the same time, necessary to move on. Ten years later, Paris revives the memory of the attacks of November 13, 2015, where 132 people died in a coordinated attack in different scenarios. This Thursday, starting at 11.30am, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron walked in silence through the six places in honor of the victims with two key points: the Bataclan hall, where he stopped after 3pm, and the memorial dedicated to the victims, where in the afternoon speeches will be held in a ceremony created by the same authors as that of the Olympic Games.
The first phase of the commemoration allowed the authorities of the time – such as the then President of the Republic, François Hollande, the Prime Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, or the Minister of the Interior, Manuel Valls – to return to the sites of the massacre. They were accompanied by the presidents of the victims’ associations, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo (she was already mayor then and was one of the first to arrive at the concert hall that night) and several groups of police officers who were part of the assault force.
On November 13, 2015, three nine-man commandos with automatic weapons and explosive belts, in a synchronized action between 9.20 pm and 9.20 pm. Friday and 1:40 a.m. Saturday, killed 130 people and injured 350; 90 people lost their lives in the Bataclan concert hall. In various terraces and restaurants in the 10th and 11th arrondissements of Paris, another 39. At the Stade de France, another. Perhaps the most forgotten of all victims. Right there, the mayor of Saint-Denis stated in his speech what the entire European population would like to think: “The terrorists have lost”.
The city recovered. Life goes on and places like the Bataclan, where 90 people died and which continues to schedule concerts, have returned to normal. It is part of the message that Paris launches on the anniversary of the attacks, returning to the places of the tragedy, giving voice to the victims who have gathered in two associations that have kept their memory alive. But a piece of the road has already been done. One of them, Life for Paris, has now decided to disband. “We don’t want to be professional victims,” its president, Arthur Dénouveaux, explains to this newspaper.
Not everyone can see it the same way. “Since that November 13th there is a void that cannot be filled: my father loved life,” said Sophie Dias, daughter of the first victim of the deadly day, Manuel Dias, at the gates of the Stade de France, the first stop of the commemoration. “They tell us to move on after 10 years, but the absence is immense, the shock remains intact and the misunderstanding continues with us,” he added.
The Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group, which still controlled cities such as Raqa, Syria, or Mosul, Iraq, claimed responsibility for the attacks a few hours later. It was a response, they announced, to France’s participation in the international coalition bombing their positions in the two Arab countries. Ten years later, the caliphate has been overthrown and the terrorist threat has collapsed in Europe. But in France the threat, the fear, has not completely disappeared.
Beyond the scenes of the massacre, Paris has illuminated some of its icons, such as the Eiffel Tower or the monument in Place de la République, where thousands of people have flocked in recent days to leave their memory to the victims.
The culmination of the anniversary will take place at 6pm, with the inauguration of the 13-N memorial garden, at the back of the Paris city hall. Speakers will include President Macron, Mayor Hidalgo, Philippe Dupperon, of the 13once15 association, and Denouveaux, of Life For Paris.
