Paris will not bow

THE Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has said that the terror attacks in the city on Friday November 13 will not change the openness and resolve of the famous city which she says is “strengthened by its diversity”.

“It is this Paris,” the Mayor told reporters on Saturday, “which has been targeted because this model of togetherness is unbearable for fanatics, for those who want to reduce all humanity to silence.”

As messages of support began to pour in from across the globe, residents in Paris were using the hashtag #PorteOuverte, “open door” in French, on Twitter to offer safe haven to stranded strangers across the city. The hashtag was trending worldwide on Twitter as Parisians put out the message in both French and English to anyone in need of shelter. 

On Saturday afternoon, an unnamed man sat at a grand piano outside the Bataclan Hall, the scene of the deadliest attack, and played John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ in tribute to the victims as people left flowers and candles outside the venue.

Mayor Hidalgo vowed that “we will be stronger than those who would to reduce us to silence.” “We love to debate, we love to disagree, that’s democracy,” she added.