Ten years after the Paris terrorist attacks
This week France commemorates the victims of the attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015, in which Islamist terrorists killed 130 people at the Bataclan concert hall, outside the Stade de France football stadium and at several street cafés. Commentators take stock a decade on.
The French way of life lives on
France and Paris have not let themselves be defeated, Libération notes:
“Faced with the horrors of 13 November 2015, France experienced several weeks of national unity. ... Today, the Republic is shaken, fragmented, under attack, but it is still there. The world has changed, and so have we. IS no longer spreads its terror across the entire Middle East, and our ability to counter jihadist terror has improved. That November 13th plunged an entire generation into horror. But ten years on, what we have not lost is our ability to enjoy life. To be carefree, to be Parisian, to sit in street cafés.”
The danger is still there
There have already been five attacks with an Islamist background in France since July 2024, notes terrorism expert Marc Hecker in Les Echos, warning against scaling back counter-terrorism measures:
“The various jihadist fronts remain active to varying degrees and warrant continued monitoring. In the Sahel, one of the three main fronts in Africa, insurgencies have gained ground in rural areas and pose a threat to several major cities. In [Central Asian] Khorasan, the IS has demonstrated its ability to strike beyond Afghanistan, particularly in Iran and Russia. In Syria, it has been stepping up its activities since Ahmed al-Sharaa came to power. ... International jihadism continues to pose a serious threat, and France remains a prime target.”
Belgium must focus on the young
Jihadists from Belgium played a key role in the attacks, and nowadays young people from its poorer neighbourhoods are involved in drug-related shootings, L'Echo explains, tracing both phenomena back to similar causes:
“Whether we're talking about religion or drug trafficking, the dynamics behind these abuses are the same. Easy money has replaced God; both are merely symptoms of a death wish and a loss of bearings. A small fringe group of young people in the capital's most deprived neighbourhoods have lost their footing, and resolute political will is needed to tackle the problem. ... Repression is necessary, yes, but so is an emancipation project for the disadvantaged neighbourhoods and real work at the heart of the networks, jihadist at the time and criminal today.”