Parisians returned to work yesterday, morning under the watchful gaze of armed police and soldiers, giving the French capital the air of a city under siege.
Machine-gun-toting security officials patrolled the platforms at key transport hubs, such as the six main train terminals, while messages flashed on information screens urging commuters to be vigilant and to dial an emergency number should they notice any suspicious behavior.
“Things are bad; we are afraid, but we have to carry on,” said 29-year-old Boutina Tazi, who works in information technology, as she headed to work in the La Defense financial district.
“There are extra checks at shop entrances, security everywhere. It’s all slightly surreal,” Tazi said.
Yesterday marked the last of three days of national mourning after the terrorist attacks on Friday that claimed at least 129 lives. French President Francois Hollande on Sunday said that France would extend a state of emergency, imposed on Friday, for three months.
Meanwhile, security agencies across Europe and the US raced to piece together how teams of coordinated attackers and suicide bombers evaded heightened security to strike in the heart of one of Europe’s most heavilypoliced cities.
“We’re in a state of psychosis at the moment,” said Amaury Larreur, 27, who works at a hospital trust in the east of Paris.
“Even if the atmosphere is very heavy, we have to get on with life because we can’t let the terrorists win,” Larreur said.
Security measures extended to the capital’s school system. All French school trips have been canceled until Sunday, French Minister of Education Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said yesterday morning on radio station France International.
The same goes for any school activity that requires taking public transport. The only exception is for those who are already on trips abroad who are to return as originally scheduled.
Other schools, for example one in the 15th arrondissement south of the Seine River, stationed extra security personnel to ensure only students entered the premises.
Employers sought to ensure the safety of their workforce and to encourage employees to respect the minute’s silence, which was observed at noon.
“Our chief executive officer messaged everyone over the weekend to inform us of extra security measures,” said Antoine Roillard, a 46-year-old who works at a savings bank in La Defense.
“It never crossed my mind not to come to work today,” Roillard said.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls yesterday said no world leader has asked for this month’s climate conference in Paris to be delayed, but “a whole series” of side events would be canceled.
Valls, speaking on French radio RTL yesterday, says the climate summit is “crucial to the planet’s future.”
“No head of state, of government — on the contrary — has asked us to postpone this meeting. All want to be there,” Valls said.
“To do otherwise would, I believe, be to yield to terrorism,” Valls said.
At least 117 heads of state and government have accepted invitations to come on the first day of the Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 conference.
Valls said “a series of events that were scheduled might not take place,” referring to a live music show near the Eiffel tower and a march for climate scheduled on Nov. 29 in Paris’ streets.
Additional reporting by AFP
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