France marks Paris attacks anniversary

French officials and citizens marked the tenth anniversary of the coordinated attacks that tore through the capital a decade earlier, remembering 130 people killed in a series of shootings and bombings. President Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, visited memorial sites near cafés and restaurants in the 11th arrondissement that were among the early targets, including the Carillon, Petit Cambodge, Bonne Bière, Comptoir Voltaire and Belle Équipe. Wreaths, flowers and candles were placed at those locations and at other attack sites as survivors, relatives and public figures paid tribute throughout the day.

The assault began with suicide bomb blasts outside the Stade de France and continued as gunmen opened fire at several central Paris venues, most notably the Bataclan concert hall. The coordinated violence left 130 dead—the deadliest attacks on French soil since World War Two—and prompted far-reaching emergency security measures that have since been enshrined in law. Officials noted that the cafés and restaurants struck that night epitomised the attackers’ aim to target ordinary public life, choosing crowded terraces and venues where people gathered without security.

A commemorative ceremony at Paris City Hall, attended by the president and broadcast on giant screens in Place de la République, brought together politicians, survivors and relatives who read victims’ names and spoke of grief and resilience. A newly inaugurated memorial garden near City Hall was dedicated to victims of terrorism, and public tributes at the Bataclan and the Stade de France echoed the day’s solemn tone. Many survivors described returning to the cafés as painful but important, saying the acts of remembrance help preserve the memory of those lost while demonstrating the city’s capacity to carry on.

Citizens gathered at Place de la République, where a makeshift memorial of flowers and candles recalled the spontaneous gatherings that followed the attacks a decade earlier. For many, the anniversary was both a moment of private mourning and a public reaffirmation of democratic values; President Macron reiterated the state’s commitment to defending freedoms in the face of extremist threats. As ceremonies closed, attendees and observers said the commemorations served to honour victims, acknowledge survivors’ ongoing traumas, and underline the perseverance of everyday life in the city a decade after the violence.