Just as it did 10 years ago to the day, Paris awoke to bright sunshine and freezing temperatures on Tuesday, January 7. Frozen in a winter chill and by the memory of the murderous attacks of January 7, 2015, the first day of a bloody week during which 17 people would be killed by Islamist terrorists.
It was a day of commemoration dominated by a secure and not exactly popular atmosphere, with the public carefully kept at a distance from the various ceremony sites, all "marked by sobriety, in accordance with the wishes of the families" said Paris City Hall.
At the very moment when, 10 years earlier, the Kouachi brothers, armed to the teeth, burst into the offices of Charlie Hebdo, in search of their prey, some 150 people – editorial staff survivors, victims' families and personalities – gathered in front of number 10 Rue Nicolas Appert, in the 11th arrondissement, where the massacre took place. The site now houses a municipal police training school.
Bicycle hoops were installed in front of the discreet entrance a few years ago, further trivializing the scene of the carnage. A plaque, affixed to the façade in January 2016, pays tribute to the 11 victims. The name of Simon Fieschi, the webmaster of the satirical weekly, who was seriously injured in the attack and found dead on October 17, 2024, was recently added.
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