Before Paris Attack, the Bataclan Had Long History in Music and Politics
PARIS — Crowds gathered on Monday to place flowers and candles and pay their respects to the 89 people killed at the Bataclan, as speculation swirled about why the legendary music hall was the target of the most brutal of the terrorist attacks on Friday.
Jihad in Syria and in Iraq: a Сhallenge for France
One week after the terrorist attacks in Paris, the police killed two jihadists in Belgium. Officials said that the two men were coming back from Syria and were on the brink of targeting Brussels. The capital of Belgium was already targeted a few months ago: in May 2014, Mehdi Nemmouche – a French citizen who had trained in Syria – killed 4 persons in Brussels’ Jewish museum.
Don’t Overhaul French Anti-terrorism
For the past two years, French experts on terrorism have felt anxious. They often emphasized: “The question is not whether France will be targeted by a terrorist attack, but when.” The dreaded attack took place on January 7th, 2015. That evening, various speakers across the media expressed their solidarity with the victims, but also criticized intelligence agencies for their failure, and asked for the implementation of a completely different strategy or the adoption of a new antiterrorist law. Never mind that the last one was only voted on a couple of months ago — the mere occurrence of the attacks shows that something went wrong somewhere. The French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, didn’t hide this fact and asked for a thorough report. But let’s face it: No antiterrorist scheme is foolproof. The attack against Charlie Hebdo should not lead to an entire rethink of a French system that had become stronger over the years and now seems solid.
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