(Adnkronos) – France has been commemorating for days with a series of events the terrorist attacks of November 13 in Paris and Saint-Denis, which ten years ago killed 132 people, including our compatriot Valeria Solesin, and injured over 350. Tomorrow, on the anniversary of the attacks, moments of reflection and minutes of silence are planned in front of all the sites hit by the Islamist terrorist commandos, in the presence of President Emmanuel Macron.
The day of November 13 will begin at 11:30 AM with a tribute to Manuel Dias, the first victim, and to those injured in the attack at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis. In 2015, three jihadists detonated their explosive belts near the stadium. Tributes will follow in succession at each affected location, starting from the terraces of the establishments in the east of the capital: at 12:30 PM in front of Petit-Cambodge and Carillon, at 1:00 PM at Bonne Bière, at 1:30 PM at Comptoir Voltaire, and at 1:50 PM at La Belle Équipe. The stop in front of the Bataclan, the hall where 90 people were killed, is scheduled for 2:30 PM.
At 6:00 PM, a commemorative ceremony is scheduled at the Jardin du 13 Novembre 2015, in Place Saint-Gervais in Paris, near the City Hall. Several speeches are expected, including those by Emmanuel Macron, the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, and Philippe Duperron and Arthur Dénouveaux, presidents respectively of the associations 13onze15 and Life for Paris. The names of the victims of the attacks will be read aloud. (continues)
The event is entrusted to the artistic direction of Thierry Reboul, former executive director of the ceremonies for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. “Rock music will be central. The idea is to pay tribute to the passion for which some died (especially fans of the band Eagles of Death Metal who played that evening at the Bataclan),” Reboul told Le Monde newspaper. The ceremony will be broadcast live on France 2 and on a giant screen in Place de la République. France Télévisions is also organizing a special program for the tenth anniversary of the attacks, on France 2 and france.tv.
Among the commemorative events, there are also several exhibitions throughout Paris. The evening also includes musical and theatrical tributes: at 8 PM, the Paris Chamber Orchestra will perform, among other works, “Il fait novembre en mon âme” by Béchara El-Khoury at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, in memory of the victims.
Also in the theater, the public can attend the show “Les Consolantes” by author and director Pauline Susini, a work dedicated to the “forms of intimate and collective consolation and reconstruction” after the attacks. Tonight and tomorrow night, finally, the Eiffel Tower will be illuminated in blue, white, and red – the colors of the flag – as soon as it gets dark, announced the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.
