‘In sorrow, but unbowed’
LONDON – World leaders responded to deadly attacks in Paris with defiant pledges of solidarity and Europe tightened security after Islamic State said it was behind an assault by gunmen and bombers that left at least 129 dead in the French capital.
From United States President Barack Obama to Russian President Vladimir Putin and across Europe and the Middle East, leaders expressed their condolences to French President Francois Hollande, who said the attacks amounted to an act of war against France.
Islamic State militants said the attack was designed “to teach France, and all nations following its path, that they will remain at the top of Islamic State’s list of targets.”
After the worst bloodshed in France since the end of World War Two, European neighbors including Britain, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Italy increased security. France temporarily imposed border controls.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the Netherlands would also tighten security at its borders and airports, and said the Dutch were “at war” with Islamic State.
Belgium imposed additional frontier controls on road, rail and air arrivals from France. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel asked Belgians on Saturday not to travel to Paris unless necessary.
British Prime Minister David Cameron used French to
express his solidarity after calling Hollande.
“Shocked, but resolute. In sorrow, but unbowed. My message to the French people is simple: Nous sommes solidaires avec vous. Nous sommes tous ensemble. We stand with you. United,” Cameron said.
London monuments including the London Eye and Tower Bridge were lit up in the red, white and blue of the French tricolor, as were Sydney’s Opera House, the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taiwan, the Senate building in Mexico City, One World Trade Center in New York and several other global landmarks.
The deadliest attack on Europe since the 2004 Madrid bombings laid bare Islamic State’s capability to strike at the heart of Europe and the difficulty of monitoring the movements of militants intent on killing.
It also triggered a debate on Europe’s refugee policies and the failures of Western policy in Syria.
“This is an attack not just on Paris, it’s an attack not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share,” Obama said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed Obama, saying “our free life is stronger than terror.”
New York, Los Angeles, Boston and other cities in the United States bolstered security. Law enforcement officials said the beefed- up police presence was precautionary rather than a response to any specific threats.
On Saturday in New York, hundreds of people including Mayor Bill de Blasio gathered for a vigil at Washington Square Park. Some of the crowd held signs of a peace symbol with the Eiffel Tower at its center.
At dusk, the city was planning to light the square’s landmark arch in the blue, white and red of the French flag.
New York police marshaled about 200 officers and dozens of vehicles at Times Square in a show of force reminiscent of exercises staged in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.
In Los Angeles, the second-largest US city, police stepped up patrols at concerts and other places with large crowds.
About three dozen people gathered outside the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan, to mourn the attack in Paris and bombings in Lebanon this week that killed 43 people. Dearborn has one of the highest concentrations of Muslims in the United States.
“I would encourage people to look more into Islam and what Islam is all about before they judge and say, that was a Muslim attack,” said Nisreen Salame, one of those at the vigil.
Western security sources said the attack on Paris was one of the “nightmare” scenarios for police forces: several well-planned attacks with advanced weaponry on unarmed civilian revelers across a densely populated capital.
The attacks included explosions outside a stadium where the French and German men’s national soccer teams were playing an international match.
The US National Football League said it would increase security and beef up law enforcement presence at stadiums this weekend as a precaution.
Hollande said the attack was planned outside France but carried out with internal help.
Western security sources said the porous nature of Europe’s internal borders allowed freer movement of advanced weaponry and potential attackers, including those who have traveled to Syria, across Europe.
“Border control is absolutely critical,” said Anthony Glees, director of the Center for Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham.
“They can reinstate border controls so they know who is in their country, they know who leaves their country and they know where they’ve been if they leave their country,” he added.
European Union leaders said that such attacks could not divide Europe.
But Poland’s European affairs minister designate said after the attacks in Paris, Warsaw would not be able to accept migrants under European Union quotas.
In September, Poland backed a European Union plan to share out 120,000 refugees, many of them fleeing the war in Syria, across the 28-nation bloc.
The attacks have sparked a debate in Germany on Merkel’s refugee policy and how to get a better overview of the people entering the country.