The names of the 130 people killed were read at a national memorial service at a historic military building in Paris called Les Invalides.
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France paid homage today to those who died in terrorist attacks in Paris two weeks ago.
Most, as French President Francois Hollande noted, were under the age of 35, killed while enjoying a mild Friday night of music, food, drinks or sports.
Last week, the French parliament approved the extension of a state of emergency declared immediately after the attacks to three months on persistent high terror alert.
In a poignant but defiant speech, President Francois Hollande vowed to destroy Islamic State and urged his compatriots to help combat the group simply by continuing to go to bars, restaurants and cultural and sporting events and to enjoy the simple pleasures he said the militants hated.
“They were beaten down because they represented France”.
Hollande promised France will do everything in its power to, and these are his own words “destroy the army fanatics who committed these crimes”.
And in the grand square of the Hotel National des Invalides, Hollande called guests together to mourn the victims in a national ceremony.
More than 350 people were injured in the attacks, which is now the worst in recent French history. The attackers, he said, were part of a “death cult”.
“So no thank you, Mr. President, politicians, your tribute we do not want”, she wrote. “With our institutions, with global law”, a sombre Hollande said.
Brahim Abdeslam, a French national living in Belgium, blew himself up outside a cafe in the attacks on November 13 while his brother Salah fled to Belgium shortly after the attacks, sparking a huge manhunt.
Putin said the Syrian army was a “natural partner in the fight against terrorism”, while Hollande reiterated the view that Assad “has no place in the future of Syria”. Bruce, the attacks happened so recently but France remains defiant.
And Hollande’s appointment calendar filled with meetings with world leaders, starting with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday and ending with a visit to Moscow to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.
French authorities have extended a measure banning fans from visiting teams from attending football matches in the wake of the Paris attacks.
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An unidentified woman grieves at the coffin of France’s Aurelie de Peretti, who was killed at the Bataclan concert hall during the Paris attacks, Thursday, Nov. 26 2015 in Saint-Tropez, French Riviera.
