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AS IT HAPPENED: Over 120 dead in Paris attacks

The Local France
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AS IT HAPPENED: Over 120 dead in Paris attacks
Police and rescuers work at the scene of an attack in the 10th arrondissement of the French capital of Paris. Photo: Kenzo Troubillard/AFP

At least 120 people were killed and many more were injured after shootings and a suicide bombing in Paris on Friday night. The Local live blogged the key moments from the night.

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KEY POINTS

03:35 - All attackers dead
 
Paris police have confirmed that all the attackers that were in the Bataclan concert hall are dead, having blown themselves up with explosives as police stormed the building. 
 
Authorities are still on the hunt for any potential accomplices, though it remains unconfirmed if there are any.
 
This wraps up our coverage for the night, but we will be back early on Saturday morning with more information as it happens.
 
It has been a horrific night for France, in what was the worst attack on home soil since World War Two.
 
President Hollande has promised to show "no mercy" in fighting the attackers. 
 
03:21 - Accomplices of Paris attackers may still be on the run
 
A prosecutor has told AFP that accomplices may still be on the loose. We already know that three shooters were killed by police at Bataclan, and that one died in a suicide bombing at Stade de France.
 
The prosecutor's office said earlier in the night that five attackers were "neutralized", but exact details remain unclear.
 
There are reports that up to four police officers died in the Bataclan shootout, but this remains unconfirmed. 
 
AFP reported that the four deaths were actually the attackers, "three of whom detonated suicide explosive belts".
 
03:15 - Paris closed on Saturday
 
Paris will be shut down on Saturday, with schools, museums, libraries and pools not opening their doors to the public. 
 
03:10 - Witness accounts: "They just started shooting at the crowd"
 
Read more here from witnesses on the scene at the Bataclan concert hall. 
 
02:42 - Five Paris attackers 'neutralised': prosecutor's office
 
Apocalyptic scenes as Paris hit by attacks
 
02:25 - Official statement from Elysée
 
The Elysée has issued a statement following tonight's emergency cabinet meeting.
 
The main points:
 
1. Under the countrywide state of emergency, “protection security zones” can be established.
2. In the metropolitan Paris region (Ile de France):
• All people “whose activity is dangerous” can be consigned to their homes.
• Entertainment venues and meeting halls can be closed provisionally.
• The forced surrender of weapons and “administrative searches” permitted.
• Border controls reestablished, with mobilization of French Customs with immediate effect.
• Schools and universities in the Paris region to be closed on Saturday.
• School trips on Saturday cancelled.
• A defence council will meet at 9am and 1,500 extra troops have been mobilized
 
02:15 - Key details from President Hollande's speech
 
"This is a terrible ordeal which once again assails us. We know where it comes from, who these criminals are, who these terrorists are.
 
"In these difficult moments, we must - and I’m thinking of the many victims, their families and the injured - show compassion and solidarity. But we must also show unity and calm.
 
"Faced with terror, France must be strong, it must be great and the state authorities must be firm. We will be.
 
"We must also call on everyone to be responsible.
 
"What the terrorists want is to scare us and fill us with dread. There is indeed reason to be afraid. There is dread, but in the face of this dread, there is a nation that knows how to defend itself, that knows how to mobilise its forces and, once again, will defeat the terrorists."
 
01:54 - Facebook safety check
 
Facebook has alerted all people who are registered as living in Paris with a "safety check" in an attempt to let families and friends know that they're safe. Read more here.
 
 
01:53 - 1,500 extra soldiers deployed to Paris after attacks
 
01:50 - Picture of the concert hall before shooting
 
The shooting at the Bataclan concert hall took place during a show by Eagles of Death Metal, a blues-influenced garage rock band with California roots. Here's a scene from inside before the shooting, which saw 100 killed.  
 
01:42 - Death toll may have hit 140
 
At least 140 people, including children, have been murdered by terrorists in Paris on Friday November 13th, says a city hall spokesman. 100 were killed at the Bataclan concert hall along, with others killed in at least six other locations around the city.
 
Below is a map showing the location of all the shootings.
 
 
01:20 - Three suspected jihadists dead
 
Three suspected jihadists were killed when police stormed the Bataclan, reports AFP, quoting security sources. President Hollande is on his way to the site.
 
01:19 - Eyewitness inside the concert hall
 
A man named Paul at the Bataclan concert hall, which is just around the corner from Charlie Hebdo offices, has told The Local about the moments the attackers went on the rampage. 
 
"We just heard a load of noise behind us, we were in the hall at the time, and then I saw three guys come in who were shooting people, I  heard them shout "this is for Syria, this is for Iraq" or something like that. They also shouted don't move, and shot anyone who moved, and whenever a mobile phone went off they shot them too. They went up onto the balcony and started shooting, and then we made a run for it. I saw people dying, a man next to me was hit by a bullet then hit the ground, there was blood everywhere."
 
01:09 - At least 100 killed in concert hall attack
 
Police sources have told the AFP news agency that 100 people were killed in the concert shooting. The attacker in the hall shouted 'Allahu akbar' as he fired into crowd:
 
01:00 - Death toll rises to 43
 
43 are dead and dozens more injured in the seven attacks across Paris, according to the latest death toll figures from from French firefighters.
 
Stade de France – four dead, and 51 injured – 11 seriously
Bichat:  14 dead and 20 injured – 10 seriously
Avenue de la République:  Four dead and 21 injured – 11 seriously
Charonne: 19 dead and 23 injured – 13 seriously
Beaumarchais:  Seven injured – three seriously
Bataclan: Two dead and 11 injured – four seriously
 
00:56 - "I thought it was fireworks"
 
A British woman who just returned to Paris this evening was at home during the attack and heard the shots fired, but thought they were fireworks until she turned on the news.
 
"The streets surrounding rue Alibert were blocked off and every couple of minutes police cars and ambulances were driving past," she told The Local. "People had emerged from the bars and restaurants in the area, clearly shocked and confused."
 
She added that she saw two men calling out to the policemen and said they seemed aggravated, but she couldn't tell exactly what was going on.
 
00:48 - It was carnage
 
One reveller inside the Bataclan said: "I was in the front row, these guys just started shooting at everyone, they were shouting at people to lie down and stay down, they shot anyone who tried to run, then also shot at people on the ground, it was carnage."
 
 
00:34 - Seven attack locations in total
 
A security source has told the AFP news agency that there were seven locations where attacks were carried out. One of the explosions near the Paris stadium was a suicide attack.
 
00:29 - Video at time of blast
 
Here is a clip showing the moment the blast went off at the football game. 
 
 
00:22 -  Parisians warned about emergencies earlier on Friday
 
“There are ambulances passing all the time,” Deha, who lives on Boulevard St Germain, told The Local, adding that  this his son came home from school on Friday with a letter advising parents what to do in case of an emergency.
 
“It was completely out of the blue – I don’t know if this was a coincidence or there were alerts before, but it doesn’t feel like a coincidence,” he said.
 
“It was advice for parents on what to do in an emergency – such as not calling or coming to the school, staying away from the area and listening for updated from to a radio station, France Blue.”

00:20 - Parisian: It's like there's a war

Arthur Mejan, 24 years old, who lives near République (rue de Chabrol). He had been planning to go to the Petit Cambodge restaurant, where some of the shootings took place, but decided two hours before not to go. He spoke to The Local’s freelance reporter August Håkansson:
 
“What can I say, I’m really shocked. If I look out the windows, the streets are empty, the pubs have closed, there are sirens everywhere. It’s a civil war.”
 
“The police say it’s not safe to be outside.”
 
“I’ve never seen Paris like this. I’ve never seen Place de la République this empty, it’s just so quiet.”
 
“République is always so crowded Friday evenings, now it’s all empty. The metro has closed.”
 
“I’m in my friend’s apartment now, but I have to back home to sleep. I don’t feel safe to go home, even if it’s just a 10 minute walk. I don’t feel safe.”

00:17 - Paris police urge Parisians to stay home

Paris police took to Twitter to tell locals to stay at home unless it was "absolutely necessary". 

00:05 - Hollande declares state of emergency

President Francois Hollande has declared that France is in a state of emergency. He said that all French borders will be closed. 

23:55 - Obama prepared to help

President Obama has spoken in Washington following the attacks. He said the US was ready to provide whatever assistance France and its people need.
 
“We are reminded at this time of tragedy that the values of liberté, egalité and fraternité are not only values the French people care about, but they are values we share.”
 
The president added that the US had offered its full support to [the French], but that he had not called President Hollande yet.
 
RECAP - Here's what we know at 23:30

At least 40 people were killed in a series of gun attacks across Paris on Friday as well as explosions outside the national stadium where France was hosting Germany.

BFM TV said the death toll could be as high as 60. 

Police said at least 15 people had been killed at the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris, only around 200 metres from the former offices of Charlie Hebdo which were attacked by jihadists in January.
 
A resident nearby told The Local that people in the area were too scared to leave their homes after the reports spread.
 
A woman named Elena who was out in Paris near the scene of the shooting said the scene was mayhem. 
 
"I was held inside a bar by police, they wouldn't let us leave, when i got outside I saw a man covered in blood running past, from the Bataclan, he was just shouting "They just started shooting like crazy."
 
"This is unbelievable, people don't know what to do, we are trying to get home but all the roads are blocked."
   
Police said a hostage scenario was ongoing at the venue, which is in an area known for its busy nightlife.
   
Three people were killed in an explosion outside the Stade de France north of the capital, police said, during a match between Germany and France.
   
Spectators flooded the pitch as news of the attacks spread. Organisers started evacuating the stadium by three doors.
   
Another attack was reported at the Petit Cambodge restaurant, not far from the Bataclan venue.
 
The owner of a bar around the corner from the restaurant, which was targeted in the attacks. 
 
"We are not letting any new people in, police are all over the place. Its seriously tense, people are crying in here. Some of the bar staff heard the shooting and thought it was fireworks."
   
An AFP reporter outside the Bataclan said there were armed police and some 20 police wagons with their lights flashing around the scene.
   
President Francois Hollande and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced that a crisis cell had been set up.
   
"The president of the Republic, the prime minister, the interior minister are in a inter-ministerial crisis cell," the government said in a statement.
 
   
France has been on high alert since the jihadist attacks in January against Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket that left 17 dead.
   
Several other attacks have been foiled through the year.
   
More than 500 French fighters are thought to be with IS in Syria and Iraq, according to official figures, while 250 have returned and some 750 expressed a desire to go there.
   
The government announced last week that it was restoring border checks as a security measure for UN climate talks that start in Paris at the end of this month.

Police said there was an ongoing hostage crisis in the Bataclan concert hall in the French capital, where 15 of the victims were killed.

One witness there said: "We managed to escape, there was blood everywhere, they aimed the gun at the crowd."

Three others were killed in an explosion near the Stade de France stadium where France were playing Germany in a friendly.

The French President Francois Hollande was iin the stadium at the time and was rushed away to a crisis cell set up at the ministry of the interior. He was joined there by the Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

Two men are also reported to have opened fire in rue de Charonne at around 9.20pm, Libération reported.

“It lasted a terribly long time,” one witness said.

“One raised his Kalashnikov...we could hear people screaming, there were about ten bodies on the ground.”

 

 

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