France honours victims of Paris terror attacks 10 years on

Parisians have marked the 10th anniversary of terrorist attacks that killed 132 people and injured hundreds more in the French capital.

Coordinated terrorist attacks turned Paris into a theatre of blood and calamity 10 years ago, with gunfire on cafe terraces, explosions near a stadium and a night-time massacre at the Bataclan concert hall leaving 132 people dead and hundreds injured.

Many families measure time as “before” and “after” the attacks. The night reshaped France’s sense of safety and purpose, hardening security while deepening a civic reflex for solidarity that endures a decade on.

Paris marked the November 13 anniversary with a sequence of tributes led by President Emmanuel Macron and Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo at each attack site: the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, then the cafes and restaurants in the 10th and 11th arrondissements, and finally the Bataclan, with a minute of silence before each memorial plaque.

Parents, partners and friends of victims stood closest to the plaques.

“Ten years. The pain remains,” Mr Macron wrote earlier on X, saying France remembers “the lives cut short, the wounded, the families and the loved ones”.

At Place de la Republique, Parisians were invited to leave candles, flowers and notes at the foot of the statue of national symbol Marianne, as in 2015, and to follow the ceremonies on a giant screen.

Children went with parents to light candles and lay flowers. City officials asked the public to keep gatherings calm and to give families space at the memorials.

The commemorations culminated at the Jardin du 13-Novembre, a new memorial garden opposite City Hall.

Conceived with the help of victims’ associations, it bears the 132 names of those killed on granite stelae, with plantings that echo the attack sites and benches for reflection.

Designers added small signs of life — bird baths, nesting boxes, shade — for children at the request of families. The ceremony was taking place at 6pm (5pm GMT) and was attended by Mr Macron and Ms Hidalgo.

The Eiffel Tower was lit in the colours of the French flag after nightfall. The French football federation is observing a minute of silence and other tributes at France’s World Cup qualifier against Ukraine at the Parc des Princes.

On November 13 2015 – a Friday – nine gunmen and suicide bombers from the so-called Islamic State struck within minutes of one another.

Suicide bombers detonated outside the Stade de France; gunmen sprayed bullets across café terraces; and three attackers stormed the Bataclan at 9.47pm local time (8.47pm GMT), killing 90 people before police ended the siege. Two survivors who later took their own lives have since been recognised among the victims.

For survivors, the date reopens wounds.

“The 10th anniversary is here and emotions and tension are everywhere for us survivors,” said Arthur Denouveaux, who escaped the Bataclan and leads the Life For Paris association. “You never fully heal. You just learn to live differently.”

Many describe a second task after grief: rebuilding the ordinary – work, friendship, even noise – without flinching.

A 2021–2022 trial ended with life imprisonment without parole for Salah Abdeslam, the lone surviving assailant, and convictions for 19 others.

For many, accountability did not erase the strain of trauma or the daily work of recovery; it clarified what must be protected.

As names are read and wreaths laid, the message from officials and families is consistent: remember the victims, honour the responders, and preserve the ordinary pleasures the attackers meant to destroy.

The goal, planners say, is simple: grief without spectacle, memory with room for the living.