The night of November 13, 2015, brought horror to the capital, hit in the heart a second time that same year by a terrible series of terrorist attacks. The legendary Parisian Bataclan hall was the high point of these attacks where 90 people lost their lives out of a total toll of 130 victims. On the occasion of the commemorations of November 13, 2015, a look back at 5 elements to understand… the bloodiest attacks in the history of our country.
1 / Explosions around the Stade de France
The evening of November 13, 2015 should have been beautiful. While the Stade de France was preparing to celebrate the Blues’ victory against Germany, total panic engulfed the grounds in Saint-Denis (93). During the match, three explosions rang out around the Stade de France without anyone being aware of the situation. The first, a quarter of an hour after kick-off at 9:20 p.m., a second three minutes later and a third at half-time. Players do not understand or imagine the horror happening in the streets of Paris. In addition, in the stands, the internet network works very poorly and prevents the public from staying informed. At half-time, the President of the Republic François Hollande was informed and then exfiltrated from the Stade de France while the match had resumed to avoid crowd movements. At the end of the match, the cacophony will no longer last. When the 80,000 spectators learn of the presence of three suicide bombers, they are confined inside the enclosure while outside, there is horror.
On the alley bordering the Stade de France, four bodies lie, torn to pieces. Three are those of suicide bombers, several passers-by are injured. The three men had tried to enter the enclosure four times only to be blown up in the middle of the crowd. The security personnel having refused them access, they activated their explosive belts around the enclosure at several minute intervals. Stade de France security avoided a total massacre. Considering their explosive equipment, the attackers’ toll could have been much heavier. But the nightmarish night of November 13, 2015 has only just begun.
Did you know? The player of the French team, Lassana Diarra lost his cousin Asta Diakité, victim of unspeakable barbarity during the shooting. Starting that day during the France-Germany friendly match, he learned of the death of his cousin in the corridors of the Stade de France.
2 / A series of attacks in the streets of Paris
Claimed by the Islamic State (Daesh), the series of Islamist shootings and suicide attacks was the act of three separate commandos. The first group of three men was at the Stade de France, the second took action in several streets of the 10th and 11th arrondissement of Paris. Five minutes after the first detonation in Saint-Denis (93), the suicide bombers, armed to the teeth, in a car, machine-gunned the terraces of cafes and restaurants. Several restaurants are targeted like little Cambodia, the Carillon or the Casa Nostra. The streets of Paris become bloodied, the bodies of the victims fall one after the other. France is at war.
Also read: 5 elements to understand… The attacks of January 2015
In the space of 20 minutes, more than 400 Kalashnikov shots were fired for a total toll of 39 victims and 32 seriously injured. During the shooting, the three men shouted “Allahu akbar” And “It’s for Syria”. As a reminder, in 2014 as part of Operation Chammal, the French state intervened in Iraq and then in Syria in 2015 to try to eradicate Daesh. One of the terrorists of these attacks in the 10th and 11th districts Abdelhamid Abaaoud is suspected by the police of being the main organizer of the attacks. He was shot dead five days later by the police around the Stade de France.
Did you know? The day after the attacks, the restaurant La Casa Nostra found himself at the heart of a dark story. The establishment sold its video surveillance images to English media. In these images, we can see traumatic scenes such as bursts of gunfire, screams on the terrace, the panic of consumers brutally confronted with the horror who try as best they can to hide under the tables or inside. In a film broadcast by Le Petit Journal, we learn that the transaction lasted twelve hours in a cellar at the restaurant with a starting price of €12,000. THE Daily Mail had won the auction at €50,000 in cash and exclusivity. This affair was a scandal after its broadcast.
3 / Bloodbath at the Bataclan
The cult Bataclan performance hall is the scene of an unprecedented attack, the bloodiest in French history. Before 9:40 p.m., the time of the drama, spectators were dancing in front of the American rock group Eagles Of Death Metal. Then the Bataclan tragically died out. The last terrorist commando composed of three French people entered the room shouting an indefinite number of “Allahu akbar“. Assault rifle in hand, the attackers fired throughout the room for nearly 20 minutes. They coldly eliminated nearly 90 people, but dozens of seriously injured people also littered the ground. The three French people who advocate allegiance to the Islamic State attempted to kill members of Eagles Of Death Metal stating: “Where is the singer? Where are the Ricans? It’s an American group, with the Americans you bomb, so we attack the Americans and you. » said one of the attackers. Meanwhile, the French State and the police forces are preparing for a very dangerous assault.
Around 10 p.m., 20 minutes after the arrival of the terrorists, the first attacker was eliminated by BAC police officers, present near the Bataclan that evening. They were the first to enter the auditorium, the two other murderers took around twenty people hostage upstairs. A few minutes later, the BRI and the RAID arrive on site. Nearly 70 agents infiltrate the Bataclan to secure the first stage before 40 of them go up to the first floor. It was only an hour later that the assault was launched, the two terrorists were killed in a short time. A long evacuation of the wounded followed which would last all night. The attacks are over, France is groggy, in shock at the monstrosity of the events.
Did you know? A year after the attacks of November 13, 2015, Sting had the difficult task of performing the Bataclan reopening concert. The singer offered a tribute concert to the victims of November 13 and to his fans. An evening full of emotion marked by a minute of silence concluded by a “we will not forget them” from the British in always perfect French.
4 / The French flag lights up all over the world
These appalling attacks were followed by an outpouring of solidarity from around the world. Many buildings have been lit in the colors of the French flag, such as the statue of Christ in Rio, the Brandenburg Gate and the One World Trade Center in New York. Many governments have also condemned these terrorist attacks, claimed by the Islamic State group. Residents spontaneously laid flowers or gathered in front of French embassies all over the world. In France, a national tribute took place at Les Invalides on November 27, but also on the Place de la République, at Notre-Dame-de-Paris cathedral and other places of worship to salute the memory of the 130 victims.
Also read: 5 elements to understand… the attacks of September 11, 2001
Did you know? Since November 13, 2015, the blue, white and red flag has become more symbolically powerful. The European leader in flag manufacturing, created in 1832 in the North, has sold three times more since the attacks.
5 / The sole survivor of the jihadists captured four months later
Following these attacks, Salah Abdeslam, one of the terrorists, is still on the run. However, he was supposed to detonate his explosive belt near the Stade de France but something must have prevented him from doing so. Thanks to two accomplices, he managed to reach Brussels by successfully passing the checks of the French gendarmerie. Since his arrival in Belgium, there has been no trace of Salah Abdeslam. He then becomes the most wanted man in Europe. Five months later, on March 15, 2016 in Forest, a commune in Brussels, eight police officers carried out a routine search and then unknowingly discovered the jihadist’s hiding place. The maniac, Kalashnikov at hip level, fired shots at the police officers who responded. Salah Abdeslam would be unrecognizable unlike the photo that is played repeatedly on the news channels, he would have a shaved head and a thick beard. Hit by the police shots, he is forced to retreat into another room. As for the police, three of them suffered minor gunshot wounds. Salah Abdeslam and another person managed to escape through the back of the building while a third was shot dead by a sniper. He was quickly identified: Mohamed Belkaïd, a 35-year-old Algerian, who was linked to the attackers of November 13. But Salah Abdeslam, the sole survivor of the Paris commandos, on the run for five months, has disappeared again.
The day he ran away again, Salah Abdeslam telephoned his cousin Abid Aberkane. The latter will allow the two fugitives to take refuge in his car then in the cellar of his mother’s home in the popular commune of Molenbeek. They will stay for two days in the basement forcing them to sleep on the floor and speak in whispers so as not to be spotted. But the Belgian police manage to locate them. The police therefore prepare the attack with major resources to arrest the fugitive. After breaking down the door, they discovered a young man in a white tracksuit, it was indeed Salah Abdeslam. The hunt for the last attacker of November 13, 2015 is finally over, but the after-effects of his actions will always be present.
Did you know? At Bruges prison, Salah Abdeslam revealed astonishing confessions to his fellow inmates in wiretaps recovered by the media. He explains, among other things, that he was interviewed at one of the roadblocks during his escape to Belgium by car: “ She said to me: “Do you find it normal that there are roadblocks like that? “. I said: “Yes, it’s normal, given the circumstances, we have to reinforce the dams, eh”. I was in the back” confides Salah Abdeslam in these listenings.
Credit: Irina Kalashnikova/SIPA
