On the evening of Saturday, November 13, 2015, the city of Paris, France was shaken by a string of terrorist attacks coordinated by gunmen and bombers. The attacks killed 129 and wounded 352 people in six different sites, with the Bataclan concert hall seeing the heaviest toll of 87 deaths. This is the deadliest attack in France since World War II. French President Francois Hollande recognized these events as an “act of war’ and delivered a promise: the Islamic State (IS) group, who he blames for the massacre, will see no mercy. More than the politics that spurred such violence, the pain of Paris is unknowable. The solidarity seen within seconds after the attacks – in the city, the nation, and across the globe, from on-site rescue to social media efforts – is what will move us forward.
