Ten years ago, Paris was hit by a series of attacks that left 132 people dead and more than 350 wounded. It was the deadliest terrorist attack ever committed in France. Ten years later, the trauma is still there, to the point that everyone remembers what they were doing on that day, that fateful November 13, 2015.
This year marks the sad 10th anniversary of the November 13 attacks. To ensure that we never forget, the City of Paris has announced a commemoration ceremony, organized in collaboration with the victims' associations Life for Paris and 13 onze 15. The ceremony will take place onThursday, November 13, 2025, in the new memorial garden located on Place Saint-Gervais, not far from ParisCity Hall. Reserved for survivors and victims' families, the ceremony, scheduled from 6:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., will be broadcast liveon TF1 and France 2. A giant screen set up on Place de la République will also allow as many people as possible to follow the event.
But what exactly can we expect? Several details of the ceremony were revealed on October 17 during a press conference. The City of Paris commissioned Thierry Reboul, director of ceremonies for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, to design and stage this official commemorative ceremony. "It was essential to invite culture. It was attacked. The arts must have something to say. Music will be the common thread. Because that was culture, that was the kind of celebration these people enjoyed. It will be rock music to be as close as possible to their passion. And it will be Anglo-Saxon music to give meaning and pay tribute to them," said Thierry Reboul at the press conference. It should be noted that the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal was performing at the Bataclan that evening. For this ceremony, " we will have to try to reconcile the spectacular with sobriety. Stay at the right level," added Thierry Reboul.
Thomas Dechandon (lighting), Blanca Li (choreography), Lola Breig and Etienne Guiol (set design), and Mossi Traoré (costume design) are also part of the artistic team, as is Victor Le Masne, the famous composer of the Olympic anthem. For this ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the November 13 attacks, Victor Le Masne is in charge of musical direction and will unveil a "secular" requiem with a "solemn and spiritual" aspect, he told our colleagues at France Info. It is entitled "Requiem des lumières " ( Requiem of Lights ) and will be performed by the Republican Guard Orchestra and the Radio France choir. Speeches, the reading of the names of the victims, and the inaugural ceremony for the memorial garden are also planned for this ceremony, which Emmanuel Macron is expected to attend.
According to Le Parisien, the Chœur du 13, a choir made up of survivors and relatives of victims, created especially for the occasion, will sing several songs for the living and the dead during this tribute."They will be at the heart of the commemoration, they will be the stars of the evening," artistic directorThierry Reboul told ICI.
On its website, the City of Paris also announces the "flight of a swarm of 250 luminous drones"as part of the inauguration of the "Garden of November 13, 2015" and the ceremony.
