The night before November 14th will go down in history as one of the mournful dates of the 21st century. Late yesterday evening in Paris, terrorist attacks, bombings and assaults occurred simultaneously in several crowded areas of the city. The most monstrous case was the hostage-taking in the Bataclan concert hall, in which, according to preliminary data, about 100 people were killed. In total, according to various sources, up to 153 people were killed, it is unknown whether the attacks on Paris, which became victim of the biggest terrorist attack in its history, have stopped.
In total, as media reported, there were seven terrorist attacks at seven points of the French capital. It all began with a shooting at a restaurant in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. Immediately after that, reports appeared about the seizure of the Bataclan, where a concert was being held, a few spectators had time to escape, but about 100 people were taken hostage, while one of the terrorists shouted to the crowd: "This is for Syria!" Several explosions occurred near the stadium Stade de France, where at the time President Francois Hollande was watching a football match between the French and German national teams, supposedly by suicide bombers. Another suicide bomber blew himself up in a bar in the 11th arrondissement. Then shooting at Parisians started in several streets of the city on the right bank of the Seine.
The Bataclan had already been taken by assault, as the terrorists quickly made it clear that they didn't want negotiations, but were armed and ready to blow up the building. Information on what happened at the concert hall differs – according to some reports, two suicide bombers blew themselves up, while according to others they were killed during the assault. Hollande, who was taken from the Stade de France under heavy guard, immediately went to the Bataclan, where the assault had already ended. The President gathered an emergency meeting of the Security Council of France and refused to participate in the G20 meeting in Antalya.
A state of emergency has been introduced throughout the whole territory of France, the country's borders are closed. Transport connection with France has not stopped, planes and trains are arriving on schedule. Learning activities in universities and schools of France on Saturday are cancelled.
Terrorists of Islamic State immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, calling them "a vendetta for Syria." Meanwhile, US intelligence agencies have already noted that the nature of the organization of the terrorist attacks rather indicates al-Qaeda, which at the beginning of this year carried out the murders of employees of the controversial magazine Charlie Hebdo.
The attacks have already been condemned by the UN and the European Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his deep condolences to Francois Hollande and all the French people. London and Washington offered their assistance in the investigation to Paris.
