(Paris) Paris remembered on Sunday the attacks that took place in the city on the evening of November 13, 2015. Mayor of Quebec, a city which has also experienced sad events in recent years, Bruno Marchand went to the commemoration ceremony to exercise his “duty of memory”.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Every year for seven years, November 13 has been a day of mourning for Parisians. That evening, Paris suffered the most serious attacks known in France. The serial attacks claimed by the armed group Islamic State, which targeted the Bataclan, the Stade de France and Parisian terraces, left 131 dead and 350 injured.
Under the sign of “sobriety”, “dignity” and “recollection”, ceremonies were once again organized on Sunday at various symbolic places in the city.
Present in the French capital on the occasion of his first mission abroad, the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, attended the commemoration at the Bataclan. In this auditorium on boulevard Voltaire, in the heart of Paris, 91 people perished under the bullets of the shooters.
PHOTO ÉMILIE PELLETIER, THE SUN
In front of the Bataclan, the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand (right), took part in the minute of silence observed in memory of the victims.
Without comparing the attacks experienced in Paris and those that occurred in 2017 at the great mosque of Quebec and in 2020 in Old Quebec, the mayor invokes a “duty of memory” towards the victims.
When I went near the plate in front of the Bataclan, I saw, I presume, two parents coming to touch on behalf of their son. I saw, in the eyes of certain parents, this same search for meaning that we see in Quebec, through the torn lives. It doesn’t make sense, it’s not planned that way, it shouldn’t be that way. This is unacceptable.
Bruno Marchand, Mayor of Quebec
Invited by the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, through the general delegation of Quebec in Paris, Mr. Marchand took part in the minute of silence observed in memory of those killed, along with other dignitaries.
Many families and citizens remembered this evening of terror. The names of the 91 victims, inscribed on a commemorative plaque, resonated and wreaths were laid in front of the Bataclan, in a moment full of emotions.
All this in a large, secure and cordoned off area under high police surveillance. A canine search of the journalists’ personal effects was even necessary to gain access.
Memories from everywhere
On social networks, people from everywhere have also mobilized to denounce once again such acts of “Islamist barbarism”.
In the days following the attacks, nearly 7,000 messages, drawings and objects from all over the world were left at the scene of the attacks in a show of solidarity.
“Without giving in to oblivion, by multiplying the testimonies of solidarity with the victims, the Parisians have managed to make way for life and daily life in these neighborhoods so hard hit. This collective ability to recover is a sign of hope for society,” the City of Paris recently wrote on its website. Since the tragedy, the face of the Bataclan has also changed.
And that of the city will also change. In 2025, 10 years after the murderous evening, a “place of meditation” in memory of the victims of November 13, 2015 must see the light of day. The memorial garden, an “oasis of calm and peace”, will be created at Place Saint-Gervais.
The trial, which opened at the Paris courthouse in September 2021, is over. Salah Abdeslam, the main defendant and the only surviving member of the commandos, received the maximum sentence, several media reported in the summer of 2022.
An inspiring “quietness” around schools
PHOTO ÉMILIE PELLETIER, THE SUN
Street in Paris giving way to cyclists and pedestrians
The transformation of the streets around schools in Paris lights the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand. So much so that he would like this “peace” and this “security” to become established in his city as well. His meeting with David Belliard, deputy mayor of Paris responsible for the transformation of public space, transport, mobility, the street code and roads, sowed in him a seed of reflection. Under Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Paris has set itself the goal of transforming 300 streets into pedestrian spaces and children’s play areas, near schools. So far, 200 streets have been transformed. Faced with the Parisian initiative, Mr. Marchand opens the door to pilot projects. “When I return, we will take the time to analyze. There is really something there that we can draw inspiration from. Without limiting the place of the automobile, the mayor of Quebec speaks of a way of “recreating a sharing” of spaces, by making active mobility, such as walking and cycling, more “attractive and safe”.