France commemorates 2015 Paris terror attacks victims

Paris, Nov 14 (IANS) France on Wednesday paid tribute to 130 people killed across Paris in coordinated attacks claimed by the Islamic State (IS) on November 13, 2015.

"The level of the threat is still high," warned Laurent Nunez, secretary of state to the minister of the interior, adding "We must be as vigilant as ever."

Speaking to France Inter radio, Nunez noted that, after the IS setbacks in 2017, the terrorist attacks were no longer orchestrated from the Syrian-Iraqi zone. Since then, he said, individuals who have no direct links with the group have been conducted IS-inspired assaults.

"It is the endogenous threat that we feared the most and which is the most difficult to detect," he added, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier on Wednesday, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner and Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet led a ceremony to commemorate the victims who lost their lives when gunmen and suicide bombers broke calm in Parisians’ vibrant venues four years ago.

The commemorations started in front of the door of the Stade de France where the first suicide bomber killed one person.

Later, the two ministers went to the cafes and restaurants Le Carillon, Le Petit Cambodge, La Bonne Biere, Comptoir Voltaire and la Belle Equipe, where they laid wreaths and observed one minute of silence.

The ceremony ended at the Bataclan performance hall where 90 people lost their lives.