WHAT should have been a typical Friday night of dancing and laughter at the Bataclan music venue in Paris turned into one of the bloodiest in the city’s recent history.
Just months after the Charlie Hebdo attack that left 12 dead, panic would spread through the streets once more when terrorists launched a series of coordinated attacks in the French capital, killing 137. One of the first to arrive at the Bataclan was reporter Peter Allen.
Wounded people are evacuated from the Bataclan theatre in Paris, FranceCredit: EPA
Hundreds of people were injured in the horror attackCredit: AFP
Soldiers walk in front of an ambulance as rescue workers evacuate victims near the venueCredit: AFP
He was at the Stade de France, the country’s national stadium, on November 13, 2015, when explosions caused by three suicide bombers left one man dead.
Thousands of football fans who had been watching a friendly between Germany and France were evacuated by .
As of more attacks across the city spread, Peter headed towards the Bataclan…
EVERYONE remained strangely calm when the first bomb exploded.
We all thought fireworks had gone off during a friendly between and at the national stadium in .
There were a few ironic cheers at the dull thud, while some of the players looked uneasy, but the match went on.
Then – suddenly – there was talk of in suicide vests, and everything changed.
It was Friday the 13th on an unseasonably warm November evening in 2015, and the horror was just starting.
Explosive vests were being detonated and there were reports of serious casualties.
“Get home as soon as you can! Get out of the area!” a police officer shouted as we swarmed away from the now abandoned game.
I’d covered the 11 months earlier in January 2015, and there was the same sense of unease.
Two Paris-born maniacs linked to Al-Qaeda had gunned down 12 people around the offices of the satirical magazine.
Now attackers linked to were using explosives and assault rifles to kill as many civilians as possible at a music hall.
Phone calls from my editors were directing me towards the same eastern area of Paris as the Charlie attack, and the word that kept coming up was ‘Bataclan’.
The historic music venue was one associated with all the best things in life – including performances by the greatest British pop stars ever, from to The Clash.
The worst part by far were the non-stop cries of agony, and pleas for assistance
Traffic was at a standstill, there were blue police lights everywhere, and sirens were non-stop.
By now, a third group of attackers were targeting people in bars, cafés and restaurants, causing bloodbaths wherever they could.
Terrified escapees were sheltering anywhere possible, including in shop fronts and isolated alleyways, while others were running aimlessly. I could see panicked groups on every corner.
The big problem was that nobody really knew where the danger zone ended, as the highly mobile terrorists seemed to be everywhere.
“Get rid of the bike,” a hoarse police officer screamed, waiving his revolver in the air.
‘Nothing had prepared me for a night like this’
It was when I got that I followed his orders and made my way to an improvised media point, where TV lights lit up the scene ahead.
Rescue workers help a woman injured in the attackCredit: AP
A floral tribute is placed next to blood stains near the sceneCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Journalist Peter Allen watched on as the horror unfoldedCredit: Supplied
The sights and sounds coming from within the Bataclan were already haunting. It was after 10.30pm by this time, and the mass shooting inside was still ongoing.
Members of an audience of around 1500 people that had gathered to listen to the Eagles of Death Metal, the American rock band, were still inside, and being cut to pieces.
The first shots had rung out at the start of a song called “Kiss the Devil”, and now they were intensifying.
Now, rows of men and women from every background possible, including some from Britain, were being mowed down.
A colleague pointed to a battered car outside the venue, and said the three terrorists inside had arrived in it.
There were frequent power cuts, as the Bataclan was plunged into darkness, and then gunfire flashes could be seen. Fires broke out, as heavy black smoke and other noxious fumes filled the air.
Eagles of Death Metal perform on stage on November 13, 2015 at the Bataclan moments before four men armed with assault rifles stormed into the venueCredit: AFP
Mourners gather at a makeshift memorial in front of the Bataclan theatreCredit: AFP
The worst part by far were the non-stop cries of agony, and pleas for assistance.
I’d covered atrocities carried out by extremist groups from Afghanistan to Yemen in my job as a news reporter, but nothing had prepared me for a night like this, in a place I now called home.
Some concertgoers were on the roof, while others slipped through doors and windows, falling into a long alley on one side of the Bataclan.
Many others were forced to play dead inside the venue’s auditorium.
Those of us on nearby pavements felt completely helpless – all we could do was file our news reports, so as to keep the world informed, as the horror unfolded.
Survivors were now being wrapped in reflective silver blankets by medics, while the wounded were treated at the scene or rushed to nearby hospitals.
‘There was an eerie silence’
Meanwhile, the police presence grew ever larger.
Huge armies of paramilitaries joined regular officers who had stormed the building at around 11.30pm.
There were reports of hostages being killed by the gunmen, and negotiations via loudspeakers were going nowhere.
Elite marksmen using heavy iron shields for cover made their way towards the ISIS operatives, who responded by blowing themselves up, along with everyone around them.
Some 90 people had died in all, and hundreds more were injured, with the vast majority of the casualties being inflicted in the first 20 minutes of the bloodbath.
Salah Abdeslam was jailed for the atrocityCredit: AFP Who is Salah Abdeslam?
BATACLAN terrorist Salah Abdeslam is serving a life sentence for the atrocity.
He was the only surviving perpetrator of the horror attack in November 2015.
Warped was part of a 10-man ISIS group cell that killed 130 people and injured 490 in the attack.
After the atrocity, Abdeslam fled to Brussels, where he was arrested months later in March 2016.
In June 2022, he was sentenced to life without parole by a French court.
Brussels-born French citizen Abdeslam was found guilty on murder and terrorism charges.
He was handed the most severe criminal sentence possible in France – only given four times previously – and has no chance of being freed early.
The other nine attackers either blew themselves up or were killed by police on the night of the atrocity.
On the night, the sound of the first suicide bombing rang out inside the concert venue at around 9.16pm – with the second following four minutes later.
A squad of gunmen then opened fire at nearby bars and restaurants in another area of Paris.
At 9.47pm, three more gunmen burst into the Bataclan, and within minutes 90 people were dead.
Hundreds were held hostage inside, and many were injured for life.
Then, at 12.20am, top security forces stormed the hall.
Police shot one gunman – causing his suicide vest to blow up – and two other attackers detonated theirs.
Most were young and idealistic – the kind you always get at gigs. All they wanted to do was listen to the music, to sing and to dance.
When the all-clear finally came, there was an eerie silence.
What I remember most about it was police dogs sniffing for remaining explosives while making no sound at all.
It was as if they understood the abhorrent cruelty of the crimes that had taken place and were paying their respects.
The rest of us were equally stunned – unable to comprehend how a Friday night that had started off with such joy and optimism had descended into such barbarity.
Paris is known the world over as the city of love and light, but Friday 13, 2015 would go down in history as a day that defiled its very soul.
