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Video: "La Marseillaise" Sung At Union Square Vigil For Paris
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 13, 2015
Modified Nov 14, 2015
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Nell Casey / Gothamist
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 13, 2015
Modified Nov 14, 2015
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An impromptu vigil for the victims of the Paris attacks emerged in Union Square tonight.
The crowd gathered was mostly made up of French nationals or French speakers—Nell Casey tells us: "It was pretty silent except for a few exchanges. Most people were just sitting, reflecting," until they decided to sing the French national anthem, "La Marseillaise." Those in attendance at the France-Germany soccer match at Stade de France in Paris—a number of explosions occurred around there—sang this as they were evacuated from the stadium Friday night.
The French authorities are continuing to investigate the massacre. Officials there say that at least 153 people died in the series of apparently coordinated attacks around the city.
The NY Times reported:
Unlike the attacks against Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket in January, terrorism experts said, the attacks on the targets on Friday had no apparent rationale. Instead, assailants appeared to strike at random in hip neighborhoods on a Friday night when many people would be starting to enjoy the weekend.
“It’s a Friday night, and there’s a lot of people out, a lot of tourists out,” said a senior European counterterrorism official. “If you want maximum exposure, you do it like this, in the dark, when it’s scarier and more difficult for police to act.”
For live updates, you can watch France24, which is streaming 24/7 from Paris.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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