Mourners in Paris ignore warnings, gather at sites where victims fell
Parisians ignore pleas by French authorities not to gather in public spaces, attending candlelight vigils and mourning victims of terror attacks
William Haddad wanted to do something in response to the terrorist mayhem that has engulfed his city, so he threw on a warm jacket and sought out a blood donation clinic.
Haddad, 29, a social-media manager, was one of about 100 Parisians in a long line of people outside Hospital Saint Louis on a crisp autumn afternoon wanting to give blood to people in need.
“I’ve been here for an hour,” Haddad said, shivering. “But I don’t care how long it takes. I have all the time in the world.”
As Paris began to recover Saturday from the country’s deadliest attack since World War II, many residents struggled with the meaning of the event, which struck one of the city’s most diverse and progressive neighborhoods. Residents who attended concerts at the Bataclan also frequented the restaurants and bars that were hit nearby, in a series of attacks that killed more than 120.
“That was the most horrifying thing about watching those numbers,” said Diarmid Hurrell, 37, a Scottish IT manager who has lived in Paris for 18 years and who often dined and drank at Le Carillon, a restaurant targeted by the terrorists. “You can’t shoot that many people in that area without shooting someone I know.”
