We were just talking about Oyen and my niece Kimberly’s plans of going to Paris next year. My daughter is attending a wedding in summer and she is thinking of swinging by Paris. She speaks basic French and a trip to Paris for language immersion is best. The recent terrorist attack might change her plans. She could just practice conversational French with her mother. Bonjour, je m’appelle Annie. A bientôt.
The number of street beggars and pick-pockets from neighboring countries are scaring tourists in the city. Terrorist attacks are a big blow.
French president François Hollande declared a state of emergency and shut the country’s borders after 150 people died from coordinated terrorists attacks in the heart of Paris.
Gunmen opened fire at an on-going concert by a US rock group in Bataclan.
Bataclan is 20 minutes by taxi from Arc de Triomphe. It’s closer to Place de la Republique, Bastille and Notre Dame de Paris.
It’s walking distance, about 15 minutes to the Hermes shop in Rue du Faubourg, Saint Antoine.
(Live report from The Guardian)
French special forces launched an assault in the Bataclan concert hall in an attempt to free hostages. After a series of explosions, a dozen people ran from from the building. Californian rock group the Eagles of Death Metal had been on the stage for an hour when the music was interrupted by the sound of gunfire
One concert-goer, Julien Pierce, a journalist from Europe 1 radio, said he saw two or three men armed with Kalashnikov-type rifles burst in mid-day through the concert and began shooting blindly at the crowd for several minutes.
“Everyone was running in all directions towards the stage,” he said. “It was a stampede and even I was trampled on. I saw a lot of people hit by bullets. The gunmen had loads of time to reload at least three times. They weren’t masked; they knew what they were doing; they were very young.”
The authorities warned people to remain indoors where possible and closed the Métro system.
The attacks come ten months after 20 people died during attacks by Islamist gunmen on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, located close to the Bataclan theatre, and a kosher supermarket in Paris.
Hollande cancelled plans to attend this weekend’s G20 summit in Turkey and convened a cabinet meeting. In a TV address to the nation he said he had declared a state of emergency.
I remember my malaysian chinese colleague mentioning that welcoming those refugees in europe could potentially increase the risk of terrorism in europe. They cannot be sure who they are welcoming. They could have mixed themselves with the crowd. I just can’t believe her foresight can happen this fasr