As Parisians reel from the shock and rising death toll of six serial terror attacks in the city, French expatriates in India are struggling to come to terms with the tragedy from afar.
At least eight gunmen attacked Paris with shootouts, explosions and hostage-taking on Friday night, killing at least 128 people and injuring more than 200. The Bataclan centre, a concert hall in central Paris, saw the heaviest toll of 87. Other targets included restaurants Le Carillon and Le Petit Cambodge, a street outside a major soccer stadium and two other streets.
Friday’s attacks came 10 months after the shootout at the Charlie Hebdo magazine office in Paris, when 11 people – including prominent cartoonists and satirists – lost their lives.
“It is hard to believe that within 10 months two such horrible attacks have taken place,” said Sophie Collet, a representative of the Sciences Po University in Mumbai. Collet hails from a town in the French Alps but has studied and worked in Paris before moving to India. “I woke up to this horrible news this morning but thanks to Facebook’s safety check feature I’ve been reassured that my friends are safe. But everyone there is scared and very sad.”
‘They attacked popular spots’
Olivier Litvine, a French expatriate in Pondicherry, heard about the attacks only after he returned from his morning cycling routine. “I was enjoying the rain in Pondicherry and was completely unaware of the barbarism that was unleashed in my city – it came as an absolute shock,” said Litvine, who is still waiting to hear from some of his friends and relatives in Paris about their safety.
Litvine has spent a few years living in the neighbourhood of the Bataclan centre and is familiar with many of the other spots that the attackers targeted. “I was at the football stadium just this June, with my kids,” he said. “These are popular spots frequented by Paris locals. Clearly, the intention of the attack was not to target the tourism industry but the French locals.”
Others believe that the attack outside Stade the France – the football stadium where French president Francois Hollande was attending a match between Germany and France – was meant to be more symbolic.
“The stadium can seat some 80,000 people and if the attacks had taken place when they were coming out, it could have been a lot worse,” said Christophe Legris, a staff member at the French consulate in Mumbai. Like Litvine and Collet, Legris has also attended concerts at the Bataclan centre. “The attackers were targeting regular people doing things that are related to the joy for life.”
‘I hope there will be no intolerance’
While French citizens both in and out of France have been jolted by the current state of affairs, they share some anxiety about how Friday’s tragedy will impact the fabric of French society, particularly relations between Muslim and non-Muslim citizens.
Collet is afraid that the attacks could compound the sense of fear that people in France were already feeling after the Charlie Hebdo shootings. “There is a tendency to blame Muslims for terror attacks and it could lead to more discrimination and less unity within French society,” she said. “The terrorists are radicals and Muslims in France are not responsible for what they do. I know there are a lot of people who think like me, but I am scared because I don’t want my country to be divided between communities.”
Litvine emphasises that a lot of the public reactions to the attacks could depend on how authorities handle the crisis. “To me it is obvious that this is politics, that this is war, and that the enemy is pursuing political ends. I hope there will not be any show of intolerance either way,” he said. “I’m not pessimistic. I’ve spent a lot of time teaching in Parisian suburbs and I count on our youth. I hope we will show how mature we can be.”
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At least eight gunmen attacked Paris with shootouts, explosions and hostage-taking on Friday night, killing at least 128 people and injuring more than 200. The Bataclan centre, a concert hall in central Paris, saw the heaviest toll of 87. Other targets included restaurants Le Carillon and Le Petit Cambodge, a street outside a major soccer stadium and two other streets.
Friday’s attacks came 10 months after the shootout at the Charlie Hebdo magazine office in Paris, when 11 people – including prominent cartoonists and satirists – lost their lives.
“It is hard to believe that within 10 months two such horrible attacks have taken place,” said Sophie Collet, a representative of the Sciences Po University in Mumbai. Collet hails from a town in the French Alps but has studied and worked in Paris before moving to India. “I woke up to this horrible news this morning but thanks to Facebook’s safety check feature I’ve been reassured that my friends are safe. But everyone there is scared and very sad.”
‘They attacked popular spots’
Olivier Litvine, a French expatriate in Pondicherry, heard about the attacks only after he returned from his morning cycling routine. “I was enjoying the rain in Pondicherry and was completely unaware of the barbarism that was unleashed in my city – it came as an absolute shock,” said Litvine, who is still waiting to hear from some of his friends and relatives in Paris about their safety.
Litvine has spent a few years living in the neighbourhood of the Bataclan centre and is familiar with many of the other spots that the attackers targeted. “I was at the football stadium just this June, with my kids,” he said. “These are popular spots frequented by Paris locals. Clearly, the intention of the attack was not to target the tourism industry but the French locals.”
Others believe that the attack outside Stade the France – the football stadium where French president Francois Hollande was attending a match between Germany and France – was meant to be more symbolic.
“The stadium can seat some 80,000 people and if the attacks had taken place when they were coming out, it could have been a lot worse,” said Christophe Legris, a staff member at the French consulate in Mumbai. Like Litvine and Collet, Legris has also attended concerts at the Bataclan centre. “The attackers were targeting regular people doing things that are related to the joy for life.”
‘I hope there will be no intolerance’
While French citizens both in and out of France have been jolted by the current state of affairs, they share some anxiety about how Friday’s tragedy will impact the fabric of French society, particularly relations between Muslim and non-Muslim citizens.
Collet is afraid that the attacks could compound the sense of fear that people in France were already feeling after the Charlie Hebdo shootings. “There is a tendency to blame Muslims for terror attacks and it could lead to more discrimination and less unity within French society,” she said. “The terrorists are radicals and Muslims in France are not responsible for what they do. I know there are a lot of people who think like me, but I am scared because I don’t want my country to be divided between communities.”
Litvine emphasises that a lot of the public reactions to the attacks could depend on how authorities handle the crisis. “To me it is obvious that this is politics, that this is war, and that the enemy is pursuing political ends. I hope there will not be any show of intolerance either way,” he said. “I’m not pessimistic. I’ve spent a lot of time teaching in Parisian suburbs and I count on our youth. I hope we will show how mature we can be.”