Paris Attack: Friday The 13th
Open|November 30, 2015
Francois Gautier
Paris Attack: Friday The 13th

13 November 2015

As news flashes on my iPhone of the Bataclan massacre, I remember going there when I was very young. It was a cinema then, on Boulevard Voltaire, and we kids loved it, as it was built in the peculiar style of a Chinese pagoda. We used to make fun of the name ‘Ba Ta Clan’, until our parents told us that it was named after an opera of the much-loved French composer Jacques Offenbach. Today it has become a place for concerts, of course. And my first thought was for all my young nephews and nieces: Joachim, the son of my brother Pierre-Yves, who loves heavy metal music, Juliette, daughter of my cousin, Sofia, the anti-conformist, who is into theatre and music…

A quick call to my brother and my cousins: they are all safe. Relief floods all over me. It started at 9.20 pm with three suicide bombers blowing themselves up in France’s National Stadium. Were they trying to get at French President François Hollande, who was present? That would have been a major blow to our country. Then at 9.25 pm, two gunmen with AK-47 rifles riddled up with bullets Parisians sitting on the terrace of a popular café called Le Carillon. A few minutes later, gunmen opened fire on an Italian restaurant frequented by the young. At 9.36 pm, two other terrorists rained bullets on La Belle Equipe, a famous restaurant at the limit of 10th and 11th district. A little later, a lone gunman entered Le Petit Cambodge, a restaurant I have never heard of before, still in the 10th district, and opened fire indiscriminately, killing 14 people. The main attack happened at 9.40 when three jihadists, probably assisted by two other men—one a driver and the other a spotter—massacred more than 80 people at our childhood’s Ba Ta Clan, where the Eagles of Death group was playing.

Denne historien er fra November 30, 2015-utgaven av Open.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra November 30, 2015-utgaven av Open.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA OPENSe alt
Can Therapy Break The Taboo Of Hypersexuality?
Open

Can Therapy Break The Taboo Of Hypersexuality?

Can therapy break the taboo of hypersexuality?

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 28, 2015
Afghanistan: Waiting For A New Life
Open

Afghanistan: Waiting For A New Life

Ravaged by war, terror and bad politics, Afghanistan is waiting for a new life after the withdrawal of American troops.

time-read
8 mins  |
December 28, 2015
Grand Opening Of Dance Bars, Are The Girls Excited?
Open

Grand Opening Of Dance Bars, Are The Girls Excited?

Following a Supreme Court order, Mumbais dance bars are preparing for a grand opening. Are the girls equally excited?

time-read
10 mins  |
December 21, 2015
Discovery Of Colonial India
Open

Discovery Of Colonial India

Lord Hastings 1814 journey from Calcutta to Punjab with painter Sita Ram is a discovery of Colonial India through lives mundane and magical.

time-read
8 mins  |
December 21, 2015
Imtiaz Ali: Auteur In Love
Open

Imtiaz Ali: Auteur In Love

Imtiaz Ali's new film too is a celebration of desire and longing. The filmmaker in conversation with Divya Unny.

time-read
8 mins  |
December 14, 2015
Athleisure, A Lifestyle Trend Of This Decade
Open

Athleisure, A Lifestyle Trend Of This Decade

As the defining lifestyle trend of this decade, athleisure has changed the way we dress, appear, move and feel.

time-read
9 mins  |
January 18, 2016
Hate Wave In Communal India
Open

Hate Wave In Communal India

Provocative clerics, frenzied mobs and the widening fault lines of communal India.

time-read
10+ mins  |
January 25, 2016
Delhi Government: Getting Even With The Odd Chief Minister
Open

Delhi Government: Getting Even With The Odd Chief Minister

A righteous Kejriwal makes the governance of Delhi all about one man’s whims and paranoia.

time-read
8 mins  |
January 25, 2016
India’s Cricket Prodigies: Who Will Stay Like Tendulkar?
Open

India’s Cricket Prodigies: Who Will Stay Like Tendulkar?

India’s cricket prodigies today are luckier than their predecessors, but who will stay the distance like Tendulkar? 

time-read
7 mins  |
January 25, 2016
Dating Apps: A Sexual Revolution
Open

Dating Apps: A Sexual Revolution

As the dating app sets up office in India, its first ever outside the US, Lhendup G Bhutia signs on to see what the fuss is all about. He comes out unwanted.

time-read
9 mins  |
February 2, 2016