November 13, 2015. It was the night that the Paris and the planet froze. Within a few hours, 132 people were killed, more than 350 were injuredand the “city of light” turned into a war zone. Explosions, gunshots, screams. Paris was “stained with blood” – and an entire continent felt the fear of terrorism returning. Ten years later, the memories remain etched in the collective psyche of a country plunged into darkness.
The terrorist attacks in Paris began in the northern suburbs, near the Stade de France, while thousands of spectators, including the then president Francois Hollande, they were watching the friendly match between France and Germany. An explosion shakes the city. He is the first suicide bomber. And pretty soon, the terror spreads – from the cafes of the 10th arrondissement to the Bataclan.
In the next few minutes, two more explosions, two more bombers. The result, one dead and 63 injured. Almost simultaneously, a second group of terrorists takes to the streets of the 10th and 11th arrondissements of the French capital. They invade restaurants and cafes, kill indiscriminately.
One of the terrorists blows himself up on Voltaire Avenue. The other two manage to escape. Meanwhile, a third group of jihadists arrive at the Bataclan concert venue, where a rock concert by the American band is in progress Eagles of Death Metal.
The three heavily armed men start shooting and spread death.
A nightmare, a bloodbath which lasts 20 minutes… And then a three-hour martyrdom that ends with the raid of the police forces. The perpetrators fall dead.
On the fateful night of November 13, 2015, all the attacks took place in less than half an hour, 23′ to be exact, with a sequence every 5 minutes. It was a calm autumn evening for Paris. No one could have imagined what would happen within minutes.
21: 20 – The explosions at the Stade de France
On 21:20 there was the first explosion by detonating a kamikaze outside the stadium “Stade de France”during the friendly match between France and Germany. Around 80,000 people watched the match, including the French president Francois Hollande and the German Foreign Minister.
Two more explosions followed. The French president safely left the venue and met with Interior Minister Bernard Sazeneuve to coordinate the response to the crisis.
Two of the explosions were heard in live telecast of the match. After the game, several of the spectators descended on the pitch waiting to leave, as the police had closed all the exits of the stadium to check them. Security sources confirmed that three of the blasts were suicide attacks, possibly aimed at spectators.
The attacks on the streets followed Bichat and Alibertnear the Canal Saint-Martin, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. The attackers shot the people who were outside a coffee bar, around 21:25 local time. Then they attacked the restaurant Little Cambodia (Little Cambodia), murdering eleven people. They were reported to have fled in one or two cars after the shooting.
Witnesses at the bar The Carillon, at 18 Alibert St., said they initially thought they were fireworks, before realizing they were being fired from semi-automatic rifles. “People fell to the ground. We put a table over our heads to protect ourselves,” said Ben Grant, who was with his wife at the back of the bar.
Then, on 21:32 people on the roof of the Italian restaurant were shot Our House, in the Rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi, by a man with a machine gun. The public prosecutor of Paris reported that at this point there were five dead.
Shootings in the Rue de Charonne
Time 21:36. Two people fired for several minutes towards the terrace of La Belle Équipe, a restaurant on the street rue de Charonne, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. Police confirmed that 18 people were killed by gunfire.
A few minutes later, at 21:40 one attacker – later revealed to be Braham Abdeslam – killed himself by detonating a suicide bomb at Le Comptoir Voltaire restaurant in Boulevard Voltairethe attorney general said. Another person was seriously injured in this incident.
21:40 to 00:30 – The Bataclan massacre
At the Bataclan concert venue, approx 1,500 people attended the Eagles of Death Metal concert. At 21:40 – about an hour after the concert started – three armed men burst in and started shooting indiscriminately. The music festival turned into a nightmare. It only took 20 minutes.
A radio reporter, Julianne Pearce, who was attending the concert, reported that the gunmen acted calmly and decisively, telling CNN that they reloaded their guns three or four times.