France marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of November 13, 2015 with a major ceremony that will include the inauguration of a “garden of memory” in the French capital
The president of the European Commission recalled the terrorist attacks 10 years ago in Paris, stating that the “heart of Paris was ripped out” with the death of 132 people in the Bataclan concert hall, in bars and terraces.
“On November 13, 2015, 10 years ago, the heart of Paris was ripped out. That night, people who were living their lives normally – sitting on café terraces, watching a concert – had their lives brutally taken away, and 10 years later, we remember”, says Ursula von der Leyen.
In a statement released in Brussels on the day marking 10 years of these terrorist attacks, the leader of the community executive remembers “the 132 victims, their faces, their interrupted stories”.
“We think of all those who survived and those who still carry the scars, visible or invisible, from that terrible night. We also have in mind their families, their loved ones and all those who, over the last 10 years, have carried the crushing weight of grief, but we also remember France’s response, the response of a nation that did not allow itself to be overcome by pain”, he states.
“That night, lives were stolen. It was an attack on our values - of freedom, peace and tolerance, the joy of being together -, values that shaped France, values that Europe is proud of. Today, France is in mourning and we cry with her and Paris was hurt, but Paris is still alive”, says Ursula von der Leyen.
This Thursday, France marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of November 13, 2015 with a major ceremony that will include the inauguration of a “garden of memory” in the French capital.
The event will feature a speech by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and was created by those responsible for the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The new “garden of memory”, located in front of Paris City Hall, is a stone enclosure from which granite blocks emerge, evoking the six locations of the attacks – the deadliest to occur in France since the Second World War –, with the names of the victims engraved on them and, on the floor, a map of the streets.
On the night of November 13, 2015, Paris was the scene of multiple terrorist attacks carried out by nine armed men in different locations, namely near the Stade de France (France Stadium), several restaurants and the Bataclan concert hall, where a concert was taking place.
The attacks, which also injured more than 400 people, would be claimed by the ‘jihadist’ group Islamic State the following day.
