Paris under attack
In the first of four articles about the Islamic State murders in Paris and their aftermath, we look at France’s response to an assault on its way of life
GIANT black-and-white graffiti, bearing a Latin inscription, appeared in the Place de la République in the days after the terrorist attacks that shook Paris on November 13th. Fluctuat nec mergitur, a maritime dictum meaning “tossed about but not sunk”, is the little-known motto of the city. It captured the mood of horror and defiance. Soon, the inscription was lined by candles in glass jars; the phrase spread on social media and was projected onto the Eiffel tower. Just ten months after the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks, a second bloodbath is sorely testing the capital’s reputation for joie de vivre—and its resolution not to become Tel Aviv-sur-Seine.
The dreadful events of that unseasonably warm Friday evening will remain a scar on the capital’s mind. At a moment when young Parisians were relaxing after work, three teams of terrorists went on a spree, killing 129 people. Three suicide-bombers blew up themselves and killed a bystander outside the Stade de France, where François Hollande, the French president, was among the spectators at a football match. A second group shot 39 people at three restaurants in the fashionable east of Paris. A third assault on the Bataclan, a nearby concert venue, led to 89 deaths.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline "Paris under attack"
From the November 21st 2015 edition
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