France held emotional ceremonies Thursday marking a decade since Islamic State militants killed 130 people in coordinated attacks across Paris, honoring victims of the deadliest assault on French soil since World War II.
The assault on November 13, 2015, began with suicide bomb blasts that killed bus driver Manuel Dias outside the Stade de France sports stadium and continued with gunmen opening fire at five other locations in central Paris. The attacks targeted cafes, restaurants and the Bataclan concert hall, sites French officials say were deliberately chosen to strike at the heart of Parisian culture and daily life.
Sophie Dias, daughter of the attacks’ first victim, spoke through tears at Thursday’s memorial service. “Since that November 13, there is an emptiness that cannot be filled,” she said, recounting her family’s frantic phone calls through the night before learning her father had died in the initial bombing. “May we raise awareness among younger generations, pass on the values of our republic, and remind them of all those innocent lives lost, like my dad, who left far too soon, for no reason at all,” she told officials gathered at the Stade de France.
President Emmanuel Macron led government representatives in a minute of silence and wreath-laying ceremony before the stadium. Throughout the day, he joined survivors and victims’ relatives at each attack site across the capital.
The November 13 attacks killed 90 people at the Bataclan theatre, 21 at La Belle Équipe, 13 at Le Carillon and Le Petit Cambodge, five at Café Bonne Bière and La Casa Nostra, and one at Stade de France. Victims’ associations say two survivors later died by suicide, bringing the total death toll to 132.
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Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told RTL radio that the attackers wanted to destroy “this culture that is ours — this culture of joy, celebration, diversity, sharing, and music.” Historian Denis Peschanski noted what made the attacks unique was that “everyone was a potential victim” because militants targeted ordinary people enjoying a Friday evening out.
The attacks began at 9:20 pm when a suicide bomber attempted to enter the Stade de France, where President François Hollande was among 80,000 spectators watching a France-Germany soccer match. When security officers detected the attacker’s bomb belt at an entrance, he detonated it, killing one passerby.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told BFM TV that while France’s security measures have evolved significantly, “the threat remains high.”
“An attack like the one we unfortunately experienced ten years ago, on November 13, is less likely. The weakening of the Islamic State makes it much less probable,” Nunez said. “However, the threat remains high with individuals present on national territory who radicalize very quickly and plot violent actions.”
Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving member of the 10-man attack team, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in June 2022 following a nine-month trial. The court rejected his claim that he abandoned his suicide bombing plan out of humanity, instead finding that his explosive vest had malfunctioned.
During the proceedings, Abdeslam initially declared himself an Islamic State fighter before later apologizing to victims and claiming he never intended to kill anyone. The life sentence without parole is France’s harshest punishment and has been imposed only five times since it was legalized in 1994.