Paris honors attack victims
Hollande vows to destroy ‘army of fanatics’
France pays tribute to those killed and struggles to come to terms with second major terrorist assault this year.
PARIS — Nick Alexander, 36 ... Chloe Boissinot, 25 ... Mathias Dymarski, 22 ...
Mourners bowed their heads and stood in somber tribute as the names of the dead were read out Friday at a ceremony to commemorate victims of the bombing and shooting rampage in Paris two weeks ago.
Most of the victims were young people enjoying a night out when they were cut down in one of Europe’s worst terrorist attacks. The youngest was 17. The oldest, 68.
As the final name rang out, a silence fell over the majestic courtyard at the Invalides military monument in Paris, where France honors its war dead.
Meanwhile, in Belgium, authorities charged a man with “terrorist attacks,” The Associated Press reported. It was not clear if he was one of two fugitives authorities have been seeking.
As France struggles to come to terms with the second major terrorist assault on Paris this year, some people wanted nothing to do with Friday’s official memorial. Many victims and their loved ones believe the country’s leaders should have done more to protect them after the deadly attacks in January on a satirical magazine and a kosher grocery store.
“Ten months later, the same people are able to restart and this time, cause 10 times more deaths,” Emma Prevost wrote in a Facebook post this week. Her brother, Francois-Xavier, 29, was among the 130 people killed Nov. 13.
Prevost urged victims and their families to boycott Friday’s ceremony. But others said they found comfort in standing together against the Islamic State extremists who claimed responsibility for the assault.
President Francois Hollande, who stood alone before the crowd at the Invalides, vowed to do everything in his power to “destroy the army of fanatics who committed these crimes.”
He noted the youth of many of the victims, who were attacked as they sat on cafe terraces, shared meals at neighborhood restaurants, watched a soccer game and sang along with a rock band.
“It’s because they represented life that they were killed. It’s because they represented France that they were slaughtered. It’s because they represented freedom that they were massacred,” he said.
“I salute this new generation. They were hit, but they are not afraid. ... They will live life to the full, in the name of the dead who we mourn today.”
Salah Emad El-Gebaly, 28 ... Nohemi Gonzalez, 23 ... Olivier Hauducoeur, 44 ...
Others laid flowers and lighted candles at the many memorials that have sprung up in the hip east-side neighborhood that was a focus of the attacks. They played guitar outside the Bataclan concert hall and sat on cafe terraces in the bracing cold.
In the Place de la Republique, ragged posters pledging solidarity with Charlie Hebdo, the newspaper targeted in January, were visible amid the flowers, photographs, drawings and poems honoring victims of the latest attacks.
“We feel like we know them all,” said Sandrine Gil, a 47-year-old civil servant who traveled from the northern suburbs with her 27-year-old daughter, Elodie, to leave a flag at the monument.
Amid the sea of messages, there were desperate pleas for peace: “I am tired of all the sorrow and the pain that I feel in the world. Pray for Paris,” someone had written in black paint.
There were appeals for tolerance: “Don’t confuse terrorists with Muslims,” a child wrote.
And there were declarations of defiance: “I am 10 years old and even I am not afraid,” another declared in red, green and pink marker.
Hyacinthe Koma, 37 ... Caroline Prenat, 24 ... Hugo Sarrade, 23 ...
A few blocks away, Karine Reulen, 41, pulled a single bloom from a bunch of roses and left it in front of a shuttered cafe.
“There are no words for this,” said Reulen. “It could have been me 15 years ago, when I was out on these terraces. I frequented all these places.”
Christian Pitou, 69, affixed a poem he had written to the barriers outside the Bataclan. “I couldn’t go to the Invalides, so I came here,” he said, tears rolling down his cheeks. “It’s a place of mourning. We are all touched by this.”
The gesture came naturally to the former primary school teacher, who used to teach poetry to his students.
“We have the art of living here in France that we want to preserve, a culture of poetry, music, art in all its forms.”
Majdoline el-Yagoubi ordered a coffee on a deserted cafe terrace. Her father had been driving his taxi when he heard the gunfire and beat a hasty retreat, she said. Around the same time, her brother heard explosions outside the soccer stadium where he was watching a game.
“It’s a way to fight the fear we all feel and to continue to live,” said the 26-year-old political science graduate. “That’s the best way to fight the terrorists.”