November

Paris should have been taken by storm on Friday, November 13th, by an exciting soccer game between France and the current world champions, Germany. Instead of being flooded by cheering fans, the streets of Paris were flooded with traumatized, panicked citizens and tourists after three bomb explosions at the Stade de France, along with no less than six shootings having occurred all over the city, notably at the stadium and at the Bataclan concert hall.

Gunmen are said to have entered the crowded buildings and to have shot at random, generally for more than ten or fifteen minutes at a time. Passers-by sought refuge in peoples’ apartments, locking doors and closing windows to keep safe from the war in the streets below. The terrorist attacks resulted in at least 153 deaths, and many wounded, putting France on high alert. Deputy Mayor Patrick Klugman comments that the death toll is expected to rise significantly, and that Paris is “facing an unknown historic situation”. The French government has officially declared a state of emergency, closing its borders a few hours after the attack.

Police have confirmed that at least four gunmen have been killed, though the number of shooters who are still at large is unknown. The amount of work involved in putting together an attack of this scale is alarming. The terror group responsible has not yet been identified, though the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has applauded the attacks on social media.
President of the French Republic François Hollande comments on France’s strength: “Faced with terror, this is a nation that knows how to defend itself, how to mobilize its forces and once again, knows how to overcome the terrorists”. The French people proved this as recently as earlier this year, in January, when confronted with the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine. For the second time this year, the world is coming together in support of France by means of social media. Peace for Paris is the internet campaign that began within hours of the shootings, encouraging citizens of the world to take a moment to reflect on the horrendous events that took place Friday night and early Saturday morning, and to send positive vibes to the families of the victims.

-Katherine Willcocks