France is reeling after six coordinated terrorist attacks were conducted in the city of Paris, killing at least 129 people and injuring over 350.
The first attack came around 9:20 p.m. on Nov. 12, just outside of Stade de France, where the French national men’s soccer team was facing Germany in a well-attended match. Roughly ten minutes later, a second explosion went off inside the stadium.
Shortly after the second bombing, the A La Bonne Biere restaurant was attacked when gunmen opened fire on patrons sitting outside. Two other restaurants, La Belle Equipe and Comptoir Voltaire, were attacked within ten minutes of the stadium bombing.
Twenty minutes after the first bombing, Bataclan, a concert hall hosting a performance by an American rock band was attacked, and at least 89 people were killed.
Terrorist organization ISIS has claimed responsibility for these assaults. Six of the attackers died in the suicide bombing operations, and one was shot by French police. Later, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a mastermind behind the attacks was shot after a seven hour shootout with police.
After the attacks, French President Francois Hollande declared the nation in a state of emergency, proposing to extend the state of emergency to three months. The French military deployed 1,500 troops to secure strategic locations.
On Nov. 15, the French air force conducted bombing raids in Raqqa, Syria, targeting infrastructure such as ammunition storage bases and training camps in order to begin the fight against external terrorists.
“It’s an act of war, committed by a terrorist army…an army of Jihadists, against France,” Hollande said. “We will lead the fight and we will be ruthless, and we had to be here among the people who were subject to these atrocities because when the terrorists are capable of doing such acts they must know that they will face a France very determined––a France united.”
Pope Francis echoed that sentiment, calling the terror attacks a “piecemeal Third World War.” He said, “There is no religious or human justification for it.”