This weekend, the streets of Paris are quiet.
After the terrorist attacks that took place at 9:20 p.m. local time on Friday in Paris, France, French President, François Hollande, has announced three days of national mourning.
Six sites in Paris were simultaneously attacked, where at least 129 died and more than 350 were injured.
The Bataclan concert hall, where the Californian band, Eagles of Death Metal were playing, was one of the targeted sites of the massacre. Three attackers opened fire during the rock concert and later took many members of the audience hostage. A few hours later, French police units swarmed into the hall and managed to kill one of the attackers, while the other two set off suicide bombs that they had belted around their waists.
At the same time as the Bataclan attack, another assaulter set off a suicide bomb by the gates of the Stade de France, where President Hollande was attending the France vs. Germany soccer game; following these explosions, the president was escorted out of the arena.
Other locations that were targeted during the attack included Belle Equipe Bar, Petit Cambodge restaurant, and Le Carillon bar.
“The fact that there were bombings [in areas of entertainment] shows that there was more of a declaration or war. They are attacking the way that we live,” said Cecile Barry, a French citizen living in Palo Alto.
These attacks also re-open the wounds of the Charlie Hebdo massacre that happened earlier this year.
With the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) taking responsibility for the attacks that took place on Friday, the French once again find themselves the targets of terrorism.
“This was much bigger and much more confusing because of all the different places [that were targeted]. It was, in a way, trying to confuse the authorities. But the Charlie Hebdo shooting was more about breaking an ideology, ” said Alix Barry, a French sophomore at Castilleja High School.
Not taking this incursion lightly, President Hollande closed the French borders and mobilized the military in a state of national emergency. He took these attacks as an “act of war” and is not going to let France be intimated by the acts of ISIS.
For now, France is taking the time to grieve for their losses.
To mourn the lives lost and the many that were wounded, shops in France have closed for the weekend, the Eiffel Tower closed indefinitely, and even Disneyland Paris closed on Nov. 14th.
“After hearing the news, I was devastated. When you hear about things like this, you can never imagine it happening to you,” said Michelle Solignac, a mother of one of the victims.
Cities around the world lit up in colors of the French flag on Friday to show their support and solidarity to those affected by the attacks.
American President Barack Obama spoke out on the Friday attacks, “This is an attack not just on Paris, and not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity, and the universal values that we share.”
