French President Francois Hollande called on the United States and Russia to join a global coalition to destroy Islamic State in the wake of the attacks across Paris, and announced a wave of measures to combat terror in France.
"France is at war," Hollande told a joint session of parliament at the Palace of Versailles, promising to increase funds for national security and strengthen anti-terror laws in response to the suicide bombings and shootings that killed 129. "We're not engaged in a war of civilisations, because these assassins do not represent any. We are in a war against jihadist terrorism which is threatening the whole world," he told a packed, sombre chamber.
Parliamentarians gave Hollande a standing ovation before spontaneously singing the "Marseillaise" national anthem in a show of political unity following the worst atrocity France has seen since World War Two. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Friday's coordinated attacks, saying they were in retaliation for France's involvement in US-backed air strikes in Iraq and Syria.
Hollande pledged that French fighter jets would intensify their assaults and said he would meet US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days to urge them to pool their resources. "We must combine our forces to achieve a result that is already too late in coming," the president said.
The US-led coalition has been bombing Islamic State for more than a year. Russia joined the conflict in September, but Western officials say it has mainly hit foreign-backed fighters battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, not Islamic State. Obama called Friday's attacks a "terrible and sickening setback", but maintained that the US-led coalition was making progress. "Even as we grieve with our French friends ... we can't lose sight that there has been progress," Obama said at a Group of 20 summit, ruling out sending in ground troops.
US secretary of state John Kerry arrived in Paris late on Monday to pay respects to those killed in the attacks and stress Washington's support for the toughened French stance. Much of France came to a standstill at midday for a minute's silence to remember the dead, many of whom were young people killed as they enjoyed a night out. Metro trains stopped, pedestrians paused on pavements and office workers stood at their desks.
But in a sign of life slowly returning to normal, schools and museums re-opened after a 48-hour shutdown, as did the Eiffel Tower.
Masterminds
Investigators have identified a Belgian national living in Syria as the possible mastermind behind the attacks, which targeted bars, restaurants, a concert hall and soccer stadium. "Friday's act of war was decided upon and planned in Syria, prepared and organised in Belgium and carried out on our territory with the complicity of French citizens," said Hollande.
Prosecutors have identified five of the seven dead assailants - four Frenchmen and a foreigner fingerprinted in Greece last month. His role in the carnage has fuelled speculation that Islamic State took advantage of a recent wave of refugees fleeing Syria to slip militants into Europe. Police believe one attacker is on the run, and suspect at least four people helped organise the mayhem.
"We know that more attacks are being prepared, not just against France but also against other European countries," French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said. "We are going to live with this terrorist threat for a long time." Islamic State warned in a video that any country hitting it would suffer the same fate as Paris, promising specifically to target Washington.
Manhunt
A source close to the investigation said Belgian national Abdelhamid Abaaoud, currently in Syria, was suspected of having ordered the Paris operation. "He appears to be the brain behind several planned attacks in Europe," the source said. RTL Radio said Abaaoud was a 27-year-old from the Brussels district of Molenbeek, home to many Muslim immigrants and a focal point for Islamist radicalism in recent years.
Police in Brussels have detained two suspects and are hunting Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old Frenchman based in Belgium. One of his brother's died in the Paris assault, while a third brother was arrested at the weekend but later released.
Police in France named two of the French attackers as Ismael Omar Mostefai, 29, from Chartres, southwest of Paris, and Samy Amimour, 28, from the Paris suburb of Drancy. Police raided homes of suspected Islamist militants across France overnight and arrested 24 people and seized arms including rocket launchers. Another 104 people were put under house arrest, he said.
"Let this be clear to everyone, this is just the beginning, these actions are going to continue," French minister Cazeneuve said.
French warplanes pounded Islamic State positions in its Syrian stronghold Raqqa late on Sunday - its biggest such strike since it started assaults as part of a US-led mission launched in 2014.
Duke of Cambridge to join football fans at Wembley
The Duke of Cambridge has decided to join 90,000 English and French football fans at Wembley in a massed show of defiance and solidarity over the Paris terrorist attacks. The Duke, who is President of the Football Association, had not been due to attend the match but told the FA he wanted to be there to show the French people that Britain is right behind them.
Until the weekend, 14,000 tickets remained unsold for the friendly game, but all of them have now been snapped up after ordinary football fans decided to show their French counterparts – who are hosting next year’s Euro 2016 tournament – that terrorists will never win.
A spokesman for the Duke said: “He wants to go to show solidarity with the people of France. He was not scheduled to go but he decided that he wants to be there.” Wembley will be surrounded by one of the tightest security operations ever put in place for a football match, with a large number of armed police on duty and thorough searches of fans entering the stadium.
Prince William’s personal security is also likely to be beefed up, though Kensington Palace has a policy of never discussing security matters.
Fans have been asked to arrive 30 to 40 minutes early, not only because the extra searches will lead to queues but also because they will be asked to take part in a special show of support for the French five minutes before kick-off, which will include holding up placards that will make a giant French tricolour.
Hounslow Ahmadi Muslims Shocked
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the Hounslow Borough expresses its utter abhorrence of the carnage that was carried out in Paris. The World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Fifth Caliph, His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, speaking from London said: “On behalf of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community worldwide, I express my heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the French nation, its people and government following the heinous terrorist attacks that have taken place in Paris. This brutal and inhumane attack can only be condemned in the strongest possible terms.”
The Ramadhan Foundation has organised a vigil in Manchester to show solidarity and support for the victims and people of Paris. The vigil was held on November 15th at Piccadilly Gardens, Portland Street, Manchester.
