A horror’: French president vows ‘pitiless’ counterattack after terrorists kill 120 in Paris

[Abystacy]

Dozens are dead,the country’s borders are closed and the city of Paris has been flooded with soldiers after an “unprecedented” string of terrorist attacks struck the capital Friday night – the worst to hit France since the Second World War.

 

 

“To all those who have seen these awful things, I want to say we are going to lead a war which will be pitiless,” French president Francois Hollande said early Saturday morning after surveying a French theatre in which dozens of concertgoers were murdered by terrorists.

 

As of press time, coordinated terrorist attacks had struck six points in Paris, including drive-by shootings at sidewalk cafes, a hostage-taking at a sold-out music venue and France’s first-ever suicide bombing.

 

As many as 120 were reported dead at press time, including at least 80 murdered in Le Bataclan, a theatre that was swarmed by gunmen in the midst of a performance by the Southern California group the Eagles of Death Metal. Another 200 are injured, 80 seriously, according to French media.

 

Attendees described “walking on bodies” to flee as gunmen methodically murdered spectators inside the concert hall. “It took at least 10, 15 minutes, they reloaded, they had all the time they needed,” one survivor told Le Monde.

 

AFP PHOTO / DOMINIQUE FAGET

AFP PHOTO / DOMINIQUE FAGETNear Place de la Republique square in Paris Friday as the attack began.

FO1114_Paris_Attacks_web

Another witness told French media, “there was blood everywhere, they were firing a pump-action shotgun into the crowd.”

 

Dozens of concertgoers reportedly survived by hiding in the theatre’s attic, where they were freed by a police operation just before 1 a.m. The Eagles of Death Metal, who were onstage when gunmen streamed into Le Bataclan from multiple entrances, were also reportedly able to escape.

 

At least two restaurants, Le Carillon and Le Petit Cambodge, were packed with diners on sidewalk tables when gunmen opened fire with Kalashnikov rifles around 7 p.m. The shooters then fled in “one or two” vehicles.

 

“We were listening to music when we heard what we thought were firecrackers. A few moments later, it was a war zone. Blood everywhere,” a diner at Le Carillon told Le Monde.

 

Screams in English from one of the restaurants led some witnesses to believe that a table of foreign students had been hit by the fusillade.

 

AP Photo/Jacques Brinon

AP Photo/Jacques BrinonA woman watches victims in the 10th district of Paris.

Twitter user Tommy Pouilly, whose apartment overlooks a scene of one of the shootings, heard gunfire before seeing seven bodies lying prone on the pavement.

 

As police and paramedics arrived, neighbours laid out floral-print bedsheets to conceal the bodies, leaving only hands and feet visible.

 

“Total horror,” he wrote.

 

About the same time bullets ripped into the restaurants, a concussive “boom” was picked up on broadcasts of the match between France and Germany at the the Stade de France. To avoid a panic, the match continued as successive explosions boomed outside and security officials hustled French president Hollande from the stands.

 

 

According to early reports, several of the explosions were the results of suicide bombers — a dubious first in French history.

 

“As I speak, terrorist attacks of an unprecedented scale are taking place in the Paris region,” French president Francois Hollande declared in a midnight address. Just minutes later, another wave of explosions could be heard at Le Bataclan.

 

Spectators could be seen milling on the grass in the Stade de France after the game, while authorities gauged whether it was safe to release them into the city. A spontaneous mass-singing of La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, could be heard as stadium-goers were finally ushered towards the exits.

 

AP Photo/Michel Euler

AP Photo/Michel EulerPolice officers secure the Stade de France stadium during the international friendly soccer France against Germany, Friday, Nov.

Across the city, Paris’s normally vibrant streets took on an air of eerie silence as authorities urged residents to return to their homes. With many Metro stations closed — and taxis nearly impossible to find — residents were forced to walk home.

 

A Twitter hashtag #PorteOuverte (open door) sprang up within minutes of the attack, letting Parisians know who was willing to invite strangers into their homes for refuge. Restaurants and bars near the affected areas locked their doors and pulled down their security shutters to shield customers against the possibility of continued violence.

 

While the Prefecture of Police advised Parisians to stay inside unless “absolutely necessary,” hundreds could reportedly be seen streaming down the Boulevard Magenta waving French flags, trying to reach the Stade de France stadium to show solidarity with the victims.

 

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Don't know what this world is turning in. My prayers and thoughts to paris. #prayforparis #antiterrorism

[Modd]

Oh my word...

[dequeen]

It's now 158. Its indeed horrible! They only went out to have a good time! We can't go anywhere crowded again? We can't live? Church, mosque, market and now, concerts and stadiums as well as restaurants? Jesus Christ!

[FlyJ]

Very sad. May their souls RIP.

[Hawken]

Wow..