It was 9:20 local time. The match between the German and French men’s soccer teams was the place to be, as they were possibly the two best teams in Europe, preparing for the Euro 2016 tournament, also located in France. It all started with a single explosion, heard throughout France’s national soccer stadium, the Stade de France. Confusion struck the stadium when another explosion, once again coming from Entrance D, implied that this wasn’t in fact your ordinary over excited fan playing with a firework or flare. This was the beginning of an evening that not only the French, but the entire world would remember forever.
On a brisk Friday night in Paris, people all over the City of Love were looking forward to the weekend, and were also unfortunately oblivious to the fact that their usually happy world would change forever. This city of innocent people was prepared for an attack yet it simply was not expecting one of such magnitude. At roughly 9:25 pm, men armed with assault rifles arrived at the corner of Rue Alibert and Rue Bichat in a black car. Moments later, 15 people at the restaurants Le Carillon and Le Petit Cambodge were unfortunately pronounced dead. This incident was one of many fatal blows to the city that would occur on this memorable night.
Although another explosion would occur at the Stade de France, at 9:30 local time, the spotlight was on A La Bonne Biere, a popular bar found in Paris’ 11th district. Here, 5 were killed, 8 were seriously wounded and over 100 shell casings were found. While this was all rapidly unfolding, the media was completely unaware of who was taking part in all of these attacks and whether or not there were more to come. The answer to that was an unfortunate yes.
Only 6 minutes after the attack on La Bonne Biere, a black vehicle arrived at the restaurant known by those of Paris as Le Belle Equipe. Gunmen in the car opened fire on those eating just outside of the eatery, killing 19 and injuring 9 more.
At 9:40 pm, there were two attacks. At the Comptoir Voltaire, a suicide bomber blew himself up, seriously injuring one and dealing minor injuries to a few others. The mechanism used here was extremely similar to the one used inside the Stade de France. As all of this was unfolding, the most tragic of the attacks occurred around 9:40 local time, inside the Bataclan Concert Hall.
As US band Eagles of Death Metal was performing in front of a sold out crowd at one of the most, if not the most, popular concert halls in the city. It was an ordinary night, and everything going as planned until 3 attackers entered. According to Julian Pearce, a concert goer who managed to escape soon after the attackers made it into the hall, the 3 men appeared “very calm” and “determined”. After a few minutes of gathering the hostages, the 3 attackers regrouped the audience members in front of the stage. This is where most of the victim’s bodies were found by police after the raid of the building.
A Night That Won’t Be Forgotten
By Mick L.