France commemorates 2015 Paris terror attacks — in pictures

France marked the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris terror attacks with solemn memorials across the city. Over 130 people were killed by Islamic State extremists who carried out coordinated attacks at France's national stadium, the Bataclan theater and several cafes. Prime Minister Jean Castex and other French officials attended silent ceremonies, starting at the Stade de France.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin took part in the memorials, paying tribute outside the Stade de France stadium. France is on high alert again following attacks in recent weeks. "We face a double-edged threat: from outside, people sent from abroad, and a grave internal threat, people who are amongst us, our enemies within. Those threats are increasing," Darmanin told franceinfo radio.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and other officials stood in silence, spaced far apart, outside the La Bonne Biere cafe — one of five that was hit by gunfire on November 13, 2015. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and France's partial lockdown, the public was not able to physically join this year's memorials.

The horror of the attacks remains fresh for many survivors. "You can't just erase that from your memory," Laurent Tigrane Tovmassian, who has been treating survivors, told DW. "The only way to move forward is to accept it and incorporate it into your life. Then, you might at one point even be able to say: What doesn't kill me makes me stronger."

The scars left by the attacks remain visible in placard memorials across the French capital. "Today, five years on, Paris remembers," Paris Mayor Hidalgo tweeted during the memorials, adding the Latin motto of Paris: "Fluctuat Nec Mergitur" (She is rocked but does not sink).