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Agence France-Presse

French President Francois Hollande on Sunday began commemorations for the first anniversary of the Paris attacks by unveiling a plaque in memory of a man killed by suicide bombers at the Stade de France.

Manuel Dias, 63, died outside the national stadium where France were playing Germany in a football match during the first attack of a series on the evening of November 13, 2015, that killed 130 people.

Hollande and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo went on to unveil plaques at bars and restaurants in the trendy neighbourhood where gunmen from the Islamic State group sprayed bullets at revellers enjoying a Friday evening out.

The final ceremony was to take place at the Bataclan, the concert hall where 90 people were killed by three attackers during a rock gig in the culmination of the carnage.
Rock superstar Sting reopened the refurbished Bataclan with a hugely symbolic show on Saturday.
“We will not forget them,” the British singer told the crowd in French after a minute’s silence for the victims.

“Tonight we have two tasks to achieve: first to remember those who lost their lives in the attack, and then to celebrate life and music in this historic place,” he said.
Sting began the emotionally charged concert with his song Fragile, singing: “Nothing comes from violence and nothing will.”
Many in the crowd wept during the first song, before the more upbeat Message In a Bottle.
“I’ll send an SOS to the world,” he sang. “Only hope can keep us alive.”

Scores of survivors of the attack attended the sold-out concert.
Among them was Aurelien, who had been determined to return to the scene of so much horror.
“It’s the first time I’ve been in a public space for a year. I haven’t been to the cinema, to a concert, I get my shopping delivered – I’ve always stayed at mine,” said the man in his 30s, who did not want to give his full name.

“Tonight I’m taking my life back like it was before. It’s a duty, there’s an obligation to be here – because there are 90 people who can’t come anymore,” he added, visibly moved, his hands trembling.
The Bataclan’s co-director said he had prevented two members of the US group Eagles of Death Metal – who were on stage when the bloodshed started last year – from entering the Sting concert over controversial remarks by their lead singer Jesse Hughes.
“They came, I threw them out – there are things you can’t forgive,” said the venue’s co-director Jules Frutos.
However the band’s manager Marc Pollack denied members of the group had tried to enter the concert hall at all.
Hughes caused dismay in France earlier this year by suggesting Muslim staff at the Bataclan were involved in the attack.

A rare right-wing rocker and supporter of US president-elect Donald Trump, Hughes will however be present outside the concert hall on Sunday for the unveiling of the plaque to the victims.
The wave of attacks profoundly shook France but Prime Minister Manuel Valls vowed Saturday that “Islamist terrorism” would be defeated once and for all.
“Terrorism will strike us again,” he warned. “But we have in ourselves all the resources to resist and all the strength to beat it.”
France is part of the international coalition launching air strikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria.
At home, the country remains under a state of emergency, while terrorism and the role of Islam are key themes six months before presidential elections.


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Paris terror attacks

France marks first anniversary of Paris attacks

French President Francois Hollande with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo (left) after laying a wreath of flowers and unveiling a commemorative plaque at the scene of one of last year’s attacks in Pars. Photo: AFP

French President Francois Hollande and Saint-Denis Mayor Didier Paillard unveil a commemorative plaque outside the Stade de France stadium, in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, November 13, 2016, during a ceremony held for the victims of last year's Paris attacks which targeted the Bataclan concert hall as well as a series of bars and killed 130 people. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

French President Francois Hollande (R) and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo unveil a commemorative plaque next to the Cafe Bonne Biere and the Rue de la Fontaine au Roi street in Paris on November 13, 2016, during a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the Paris terror attacks. 130 people were killed on November 13, 2015 by gunmen and suicide bombers from the Islamic State (IS) group in a series of coordinated attacks in and around Paris. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / PHILIPPE WOJAZER

British musician Sting performs on stage at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, France, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016. A concert by British pop legend Sting is marking the reopening of the Paris' Bataclan concert hall one year after suicidal jihadis turned it into a bloodbath and killed 90 revelers. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

A commemorative plaque unveiled by French President Francois Hollande and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is seen next to the "A La Bonne Biere" cafe and the Rue de la Fontaine au Roi street, in Paris, France, November 13, 2016, during a ceremony held for the victims of last year's Paris attacks which targeted the Bataclan concert hall as well as a series of bars and killed 130 people. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

(FILES) This file photo taken on February 16, 2016 shows Jesse Hughes, the singer of US rock group Eagles of Death Metal, holds a tee-shirt prior to the start of the concert at the Olympia concert hall in Paris, on February 16, 2016. On November 13, 2015 a series of coordinated attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris killed at least 128 people in scenes of carnage at the Bataclan, restaurants and the national stadium. / AFP PHOTO / JOEL SAGET

In this Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016 photo provided by Universal Music France, British musician Sting, center, performs on stage at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, France, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016. A concert by British pop legend Sting is marking the reopening of the Paris' Bataclan concert hall one year after suicidal jihadis turned it into a bloodbath and killed 90 revelers. (Boris Allin/Universal Music France via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

A commemorative plaque unveiled by French President Francois Hollande and Saint-Denis Mayor Didier Paillard is seen outside the Stade de France stadium, in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, November 13, 2016, during a ceremony held for the victims of last year's Paris attacks which targeted the Bataclan concert hall as well as a series of bars and killed 130 people. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

epa05629046 A handout image provided by the Bataclan managment shows British musician Sting during his concert at the newly reopened Bataclan concert venue in Paris, France, 12 November 2016. The venue reopened one year after the deadly attacks of 13 November 2015, with a concert by British singer-songwriter Sting, attended by victims and family members of the victims of Paris attacks. EPA/BORIS ALLIN / BATACLAN / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

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