Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label Natalie de Vallieres Biodun Iginla. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Natalie de Vallieres Biodun Iginla. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Paris attacks: First policeman into Bataclan speaks of horror


  • 15 December 2015

15 minutes ago


by Natalie de Vallieres and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Paris
Media captionBataclan policeman: "It was an indescribable moment of fear"
The first police officer to arrive at the Bataclan has described the "indescribable moment of fear" he felt on entering the scene of the massacre.
The officer told French media how he and a colleague came face-to-face with one of three gunmen launching an attack, and shot him dead.
Ninety concert-goers were killed at the Bataclan concert hall, where Eagles of Death Metal were playing.
Dozens more people died in co-ordinated attacks across Paris on 13 November.
The policeman, a department head at the Paris anti-crime brigade (BAC), told FranceInfo radio (in French) that he and his colleague had been responding to reports of an explosion at the Stade de France when they were redirected.
They were ordered to go to the 10th and 11th arrondissements of Paris following news of shootings. On the way, they found panicked concert-goers fleeing the Bataclan and quickly decided to go inside.
"What surprised us immediately was the extremely bright light that blinded us," said the officer, whose identity has been protected for security reasons.
"The bewildering silence... and then hundreds of bodies one on top of the other."
What happened at the Bataclan?
Who were the victims?
Media captionFootage from Seb Snow shows Eagles of Death Metal on stage before a hail of gunfire
Elite police officers arrive outside the BataclanImage copyright AP
Image caption The two officers were soon joined by elite police units
Soon after entering the music venue, the police duo saw a gunmen walk on stage and point a Kalashnikov at an audience member.
"He was very calm," the officer said.
"Given the carnage, there was no doubt about what we had to do. We opened fire straight away. We kept shooting until he fell to the floor."
The gunman was later identified as Foued Mohamed-Aggad, a 23-year-old French national from Strasbourg.

'I phoned my girlfriend'

The two officers, who reportedly only had service weapons and light bulletproof vests, then heard an explosion from elsewhere in the building and realised there were likely to be more attackers. Faced with extreme danger, the men phoned their loved-ones.
"We decided we could not leave the scene - we could not leave these people," the officer said.
"I was ready to die with my team that night. I phoned my girlfriend to say goodbye."
Media captionFoued Mohamed-Aggad is said to have travelled with his brother to fight in Syria in 2013
Elite police units soon arrived at the scene. Two other attackers who took people hostage in the concert hall eventually died in a final police assault hours later.
They were later identified as Frenchmen Omar Ismail Mostefai, 29, and Samy Amimour, 28.
Paris attacks: Who were the attackers?
Diagram of the Bataclan concert hall
Image caption Three gunmen stormed into the Bataclan and shot at the crowd, taking the survivors hostage

Paris attacks

Explainers

Personal stories

Video

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Sunday, December 13, 2015

French far right National Front 'routed' in key vote

  • 30 minutes ago


by Natalie de Vallieres and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Paris
Media captionThe BBC's Lucy Williamson: "Tonight France's far right fell hard"

France's far-right National Front (FN) has failed to win a single region in the second round of municipal elections, vote projections indicate.
Exit polls and early results suggest the party has been beaten into third place, despite leading in six of 13 regions in the first round of voting.
The polls predict Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right Republicans will win most seats ahead of the ruling Socialists.
Acknowledging defeat, FN leader Marine Le Pen pledged to keep fighting.
And she blamed the outcome on the mainstream parties which joined forces to keep the FN from power, telling her supporters they had been "disenfranchised in the most indecent of ways by a campaign of lies and disinformation".
The far right's charm offensive
Media captionMarine Le Pen: "Thanks and well done my dear friends for rising above the slanderous and defamatory campaigns"
Marine Le Pen stood as a regional presidential candidate in the northern region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie, while her niece Marion Marechal-Le Pen was the FN's candidate in the race in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, in the south.
After both led with more than 40% of the vote in the first round on 6 November, the Socialist candidates in those regions pulled out so their voters could support Republican candidates against the FN in the second round.
Early estimates suggest Marine Le Pen secured about 42% of the vote in the second round in her region, against the centre-right's 58%.
Marion Marechal-Le Pen took about 46%, compared with 54% for her Republican rival.
Despite the defeat, the 26-year-old urged FN supporters to "redouble our efforts".
"There are some victories that shame the winners," she said.
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Analysis: BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris

There can be no hiding that the results of the elections are a big personal blow to Marine Le Pen.
She has lost the chance to govern a region and show the world that her party is serious. She has been reminded that however strongly the FN performs, the gates of power remain tightly closed.
But in a way that suits her fine.
Because what it all means is that nothing in France has changed. The two main parties continue sharing out the goodies (in this case deliberately conniving to keep hers as well).
Meanwhile unemployment rises; terror stalks; the grim insurrectionary mood continues to spread.
Marine's prospects for power may be limited, but her appeal is as strong as ever for France's growing numbers of disgruntled and disaffected.
That French "ouf" of relief? It's also the noise you make when you get a fist in the abdomen.
Read more from Hugh
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Xavier Bertrand, Republican regional presidential candidate in Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie, said the French had given "a lesson of rallying together, courage. Here we stopped the progression of the National Front".
But Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls was less upbeat. He warned the "danger posed by the far right has not gone away, far from it".
And Mr Sarkozy said now was the time "for in-depth debates about what worries the French", noting security concerns, unemployment and frustration with the European Union.
Marion Marechal Le Pen arrives at her headquarters in Marseille on 13 December 2015Image copyright EPA
Image caption Marion Marechal-Le Pen, like her aunt, gave a defiant speech, saying the "victories shame the winners"
FN supporters in Henin-Beaumont, northern France, on 13 December 2015Image copyright EPA
Image caption The results were a shock to FN supporters
These elections were to vote for councils and presidents of the 13 French regions, which have wide powers over local transport, education and economic development.
French media are predicting that the Republicans have taken seven regions and the Socialists five, with nationalists winning Corsica. Official results are expected early on Monday.
One of the biggest upsets happened in the Paris region, Ile-de-France, which shifted from the Socialists to the Republicans for the first time in nearly 20 years.
The first round of voting on 6 December gave the FN the best election results in its history.
Media captionNicolas Sarkozy: "It would be a grave error if we jumped from one election to the next... as if the French people hadn't told us anything"
It was the first electoral test since the 13 November Paris attacks, in which 130 people were killed - an attack claimed by the so-called Islamic State group.
In the lead-up to the first round, opinion polls suggested that the popularity of the anti-immigration, anti-EU FN had increased since the deadly attacks.
The FN had been hoping a strong performance would boost Marine Le Pen's chances in the 2017 presidential election.
Graphic
Graphic

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