On November 13, 2015, Paris was hit by jihadist attacks leaving 130 dead and 350 wounded outside the Stade de France, on terraces in the capital and in the Bataclan performance hall, located in the 11th arrondissement.
Six years later, justice plunges again, from September 8 and for nearly nine months, in the horror of these attacks, the most deadly perpetrated on French soil since the end of the Second World War.
If this night of November 13 upset the fate of the many wounded and relatives of the victims, these attacks also left traces among the Parisians met by France 24. They tell how they went forward.
Bart, director of the restaurant La Belle Équipe: "Here it is not a grave, (...) it is a cafe, a place where people come to have fun"
The terrace of La Belle Équipe, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, on September 1, 2021. © France 24
Bart is 32 years old. He was 26 at the time, when he lost his colleagues and friends in the attack on La Belle Équipe, where he was on duty on the evening of November 13th. The terrace of this warm brasserie in the 11th arrondissement of Paris was the target of terrorists, who killed 20 people on the spot. La Belle Équipe is the place where we deplored the most deaths after the Bataclan. "We tend to forget it," recalls Bart, who took over the management of the restaurant two years ago. However, he does not want to go back on what happened that night.
With the owner of the bistro, Grégory Reibenberg, who lost his wife Djamila in the shooting, Bart and others joined as a civil party for the September 8 trial. An expected event. "I will be there, I will do it for them, for Grégory and to represent La Belle Équipe… but after the trial, I want to draw a line. I will live with this all my life but from a public point of view, I do not will give more interviews, ”he explains. From justice, he does not expect much: "Salah Abdeslam is a silent man, he has not said anything from the start and I doubt he will say anything at the trial."
Bart is struggling to return to La Belle Équipe after the November 13 attack.
This was before the restaurant got a makeover.
In 2016, Grégory Reibenberg revamped the place, the bar changed place, the bistro took on color, the landmarks were no longer the same.
"La Belle Équipe is reborn from its ashes."
Years later, Bart, "very attached", is the only one of the team before.
“Sometimes people are surprised that I work there after what I've been through. But this place remains a place of life,” he repeats.
On the wall, a fresco representing poppies is accompanied by the discreet first names of all those who have lost their lives here, points out the director.
But in his daily work, he avoids thinking about November 13th.
"I made a barrier for myself."
Besides, he gets annoyed when people come to drop flowers.
"I know that this is a way for them to show us their love, except that here, we are not in a cemetery, it is not a grave. Here, it is a cafe, a place where people come to have fun. That's why we were shot at. And if it becomes a place where people come to meditate, those who did that will have won. So no. "
"Life went on and on. We had even more people afterwards," reassures Bart.
Six years later, at the helm, he is now training a new generation of servers at La Belle Équipe.
"They are young, I also try to preserve them, I do not want to be reminded endlessly that here was a site of the attacks."
Jean-Baptiste, professor of history in Paris: "The trial will nourish the memory work of historians"
Jean-Baptiste, history teacher in a private high school in Paris.
© DR / Jean-Baptiste
A fan of football, it is obviously in front of his television that Jean-Baptiste was on the evening of November 13, 2015. The history teacher of a private Parisian high school and higher education is watching the France-Germany meeting with his beau -brother, in an apartment located at Porte de Champerret, in the 17th arrondissement of the capital. Six years after the tragedy, he still remembers that nightmarish evening minute by minute. "When I saw that the situation was going live on Twitter, I immediately thought of some of my students who were in the forecourt of the Stade de France." Then, like everyone else, he discovers, dumbfounded, the Bataclan tragedy. He goes to bed that night at 3 a.m.
Last weekend. Then comes Monday and the time to explain the inexplicable to the students. "As a teacher, you find yourself in a schizophrenic situation where you have to face your own emotions while reviewing events in the most objective way possible by contextualizing." The task is complex. "The National Education has let us go in the open. The other teachers, for many astonished, have also relied a lot on history teachers to explain the events. Terrorism is one of the things we teach. We have does the job and put events in perspective. " But the exercise is heavy. The teacher also receives a lot of messages from alumni and students who also want to understand. The incomprehension is immense.During this whole period, "we have responded to a social expectation. Too much perhaps." Over time, the subject occupies all his thoughts, becomes obsessive, oppressive. "I thought about it all the time." It must be said that the drama touched him closely: one of his friends, present at the Eagles of Death Metal concert, is a survivor of the Bataclan. With another historian, they then decide to carry their friend's story in a book. "The first commemoration and the release of the book made me feel good, it allowed me to digest the information and move on."one of his friends, present at the Eagles of Death Metal concert, is a survivor of the Bataclan. With another historian, they then decide to carry their friend's story in a book. "The first commemoration and the release of the book made me feel good, it allowed me to digest the information and move on."one of his friends, present at the Eagles of Death Metal concert, is a survivor of the Bataclan. With another historian, they then decide to carry their friend's story in a book. "The first commemoration and the release of the book made me feel good, it allowed me to digest the information and move on."
But on October 16, 2020, the horror repeats itself. "The assassination of Samuel Paty suddenly brought back memories of Charlie and of November 13th. I took this new story in the face. As a history teacher, we say to ourselves that it could have been oneself. " Of fear? "No, but we know that we must remain extremely vigilant in the responses provided to students on secularism." But still anger vis-à-vis the National Education. "Because again, we found ourselves quite alone." Today, the 42-year-old teacher continues his educational mission. But more and more questions are being asked about the future of the world. Especially since he became a dad to a little girl in 2018.
His expectations are now on the trial, which opens on September 8 in Paris.
"Justice must go to the end, no matter how long it takes, so that the victims and their loved ones are heard and (...) can move on. What will come out of this historic trial is also very important because it will feed the memory work of historians and researchers in the coming years and soon feed the history books. "
Nicolas, real estate agent in the 11th arrondissement: "The culprits will never be able to return all the lives they have taken"
Nicolas, director of several real estate agencies in the 11th arrondissement of Paris and former neighbor of Bataclan.
© DR / Nicolas
He had just celebrated his 33 years the day before, with a fanfare, with friends. So on the evening of November 13, Nicolas preferred to stay calm at home, in front of the football match with his wife, his baby and some friends. This real estate agent who has opened several agencies, including a neighbor of the Bataclan, also lives two streets away. "During the match, I heard an explosion. I remember Evra raising his head in the Stade de France. I know the stadiums for having frequented them for a long time. I told myself that this noise was not not normal." Very quickly, the phone rings, some friends are worried because they know that Nicolas lives 200 meters from the auditorium where several hundred spectators are held hostage. "We changed channels and we stayed glued to the television for several hours. Outside, through the window, we heard a shooting and grenades when the police entered the Bataclan. The friends stayed at home to sleep. "
"We did not leave our home for three days, or so just for the bare minimum and being careful," says Nicolas.
At work, for two weeks, it is absolute calm.
"The people of the neighborhood were in shock. The 11th arrondissement was targeted twice in less than a year. There were the Charlie Hebdo attacks 300 meters away a few months before."
Stele bearing the names of the victims of the Bataclan, in front of the performance hall targeted by the terrorists, September 1, 2021. © France 24
Nicolas expects the real estate market to take a hit, but only one sale will be canceled. "The buyers, the British, had to sign a pledge to offer their daughter an apartment and they got scared." Conversely, in the neighborhood, "people did not want to stop living," observes the real estate agent. "I don't think I've ever seen the terraces so full as after these attacks, even if it was not recommended. The 11th is known to be a neighborhood of revelers, bon vivant and these attacks have targeted the music , the party, the artists… It's as if the people here wanted to show that they didn't want to be impressed, ”he recalls.
A year ago, Nicolas ended up moving, but he still works nearby and passes the Bataclan very regularly.
"There is a monument and flowers. I always have a thought for those who died and the wounded. But I do not expect anything from the trial," he says.
"Unfortunately, the damage is done, the culprits will never be able to return all the lives they took. For me, that's not enough, but nothing else can be done."
>> Find the testimonies of Noam, former police officer in the intelligence department, and Célia, surgeon (1/2)
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