Paris attacks: trail of terror
Simply sign up to the European companies myFT Digest -- delivered directly to your inbox.
Friday November 13
21:20 During the first half of a football match between France and Germany at the Stade de France, a suicide bomber detonates an explosive belt at one of the entrance gates to the stadium. The explosion kills the attacker and one other person. France’s president François Hollande, who is attending the match, is immediately evacuated. The match continues as normal.
21:25 At the junction between Rue Bichat and Rue Alibert, in the 10th arrondissement in central Paris, gunmen open fire with Kalashnikov-style assault rifles on people sitting outside the popular Carillon bar and Petit Cambodge restaurant. The attackers are said by witnesses to have arrived in a black Seat Leon. At least 15 are killed at the scene, while 10 are left in a critical condition.
21:30 A second suicide bomber detonates a belt at another entrance gate to the Stade de France.
21:32 The gunmen in the black Seat open fire outside the Bonne Bière bar in the 11th arrondissement, about 500m from the Carillon and Petit Cambodge. Five people are killed and eight are left in a critical condition.
21:36 More shots are fired by the attackers in the black Seat, this time at La Belle Equipe, on Rue de Charonne in the 10th arrondissement. Nineteen are killed, nine are left in a critical condition.
21:40: (approx): On Boulevard Voltaire, in the 11th arrondissement, a street that intersects with Rue de Charonne, a suicide bomber detonates an explosive belt outside Le Comptoir Voltaire, a restaurant. One person is seriously injured, a number of others are lightly wounded.
21:40: A black Volkswagen Polo pulls up in front of the Bataclan concert hall, on Boulevard Voltaire, on the same street as Le Comptoir Voltaire. US rock group Eagles of Death Metal are playing inside. Three attackers, armed with assault rifles get out, storm the venue and open fire. Witnesses say the terrorists spoke about French policy in Syria and Iraq. The attack quickly evolves into a hostage situation.
21:53: Around 400m from the Stade de France, near a McDonald’s on Rue de la Cokerie, another suicide bomber detonates an explosives belt.
23:58: Mr Hollande announces border closures and a state of emergency in response to the “horror” of what has taken place. He says that special police units are carrying out an assault at the Bataclan.
00:20: Police units storm the Bataclan. All three terrorists are killed. One is shot by police and all three activate their suicide belts. Some 89 victims are found dead at the scene and many more are wounded.
| Gideon Rachman | François Heisbourg | Philip Stephens |
|---|---|---|
 Terrorists strike at a particularly sensitive moment in the history of both France and Europe |
 Success in defeating terrorism will be measured by society’s response |
 Syria’s civil war transfers almost casually to the heart of one of Europe’s great cities |
Saturday November 14:
01:45: Isis claims responsibility for the bloody attacks. In a statement penned in French, Isis described the “eight brothers” who brought explosives and assault rifles to the French capital and warned that Friday night’s atrocities were “only the beginning of the storm” and described France as the terror group’s “top target”. It intended to kill a minimum of 200.
Morning: A French national, resident in Belgium, who had rented the black VW used in the Bataclan attack, has his papers checked by border police when crossing back into Belgium in a different car. There are two other passengers in the car. None are known to the French security services. They are not immediately arrested, as the link to the attacks is only subsequently realised. Separately, German authorities say that they have had a Montenegrin man in custody since early November. He was arrested after a routine check found that his car was full of guns and explosives. He was headed to Paris.
10:54: Mr Hollande declares three days of national mourning. He says France “will show no mercy” towards Isis.
Podcast
Paris is reeling from one of the worst terrorist attacks in Europe’s history. An all-out assault on the heart of the city by a group of young men armed with Kalashnikovs and suicide vests. Simon Kuper, a Financial Times writer, describes how the events unfolded and how the city has reacted.
17:00: EU leaders issue a joint statement pledging that they will “face this threat together with all necessary means and ruthless determination”.
19:11: Sources say that Belgian authorities have made arrests in the Molenbeek district of Brussels in response to a request from the French security authorities. Belgian authorities later confirm that seven people were arrested, including two of the people whose papers were earlier checked at the French border.
19:10: François Molins, public prosecutor of Paris, confirms that one of the terrorists is a French national known to the security services.
He is later identified as Omar Ismael Mostefai, a 29-year-old Frenchman of Algerian origin who had been on file since 2010 as having links to Islamic radicalism.
Mr Molins also confirmed that a Syrian passport was found near the body of one of the suicide bombers at the Stade de France and said the person is not known to French authorities. The Greek government had said earlier that the passport belonged to an asylum-seeker registered on the Greek island of Leros last month. The passport holder is identified as Ahmad Almohammad.
Sunday November 15:
12:00: Mr Hollande meets Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s former president and leader of the centre-right opposition. They discuss the attacks in a meeting that lasts more than an hour.
13:00 Mr Sarkozy calls for greater co-operation with Russia in the fight against Isis and an overhaul of French security policy.
14:40: Luxembourg, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, announces that an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers will take place on Friday.
Later: A black Seat car with several Kalashnikov rifles is found in the outskirts of Paris, suggesting some of the attackers had escaped. A manhunt is under way for the suspect who hired the VW used in the Bataclan attack, say sources.
Comments