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Paris perseveres despite terror attacks (pictures)

A month after 130 people were killed in attacks in the French capital, people continue to stop by memorials to place flowers and light candles. But activity at cafes and shops is humming again.

Stephen Shankland
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Stephen Shankland
Je suis Paris
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Je suis Paris

On November 13, 130 people were killed in coordinated terrorist shooting and bombing attacks in Paris. Here, at a cafe and bar called Le Carillon still closed a month after the attacks, bullet holes are visible in the windows. Behind these, a poster says, "Je suis Paris," a slogan translated as "I am Paris" and an expression of solidarity with a traumatized city.

Place de la République memorial
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Place de la République memorial

At the Place de la République, near several of the Paris attacks, people have left flowers and candles in an impromptu memorial. Here, a man adds another candle.

Café Bonne Bière after terror attacks
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Café Bonne Bière after terror attacks

Five were killed here in an attack at the Café Bonne Bière in Paris, but the establishment is open for business again. Here, patrons sip wine and chat in the December afternoon sun across from bouquets of flowers piled in a memorial. After the attacks, Parisians went out to cafes as a gesture of defiance.

True intelligence is doing good
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True intelligence is doing good

Spray-painted on the ground at the Place de la République is a message, "La vraie intelligence c'est faire le bien. Seul le bien vainc le mal." Translation: "True intelligence is doing good. Only good overcomes evil."

Bataclan theater after terror attacks
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Bataclan theater after terror attacks

Hardest hit in the terror attacks was the Bataclan, a theater where 89 were killed during a concert by the US band Eagles of Death Metal. The sidewalk in front of the theater is blanketed by bouquets, and hundreds more line the fence across the street along the Promenade Richard-Lenoir.

Police on alert at Bataclan
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Police on alert at Bataclan

A month after the terrorist attacks, the French police still maintain a presence at the Bataclan theater. Visitors to the site stream by, reading posters and tributes and leaving their own mementos. Police are visible in greater numbers at big tourist attractions like the Eiffel Tower, too, though the increase began after January's terrorist attacks on the Charlie Hebdo publication.

Fluctuat nec mergitur
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Tossed but not sunk

The Eiffel Tower was bathed in French flag colors after the terrorist attacks of November 13. At the top of the red layer is Paris' motto for more than 600 years: "Fluctuat nec mergitur," Latin for "Tossed but not sunk."

Galeries Lafayette commerce
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Galeries Lafayette commerce

The Galeries Lafayette department store, founded in 1912, is the heart of Paris retail, with thousands of shoppers visiting to see brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel and Lancôme. The November terrorist attacks were traumatic for Paris, but they were only a blip for a city with so much tourism and commerce.

Apple store and Paris Opera
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Apple store and Paris Opera

The terrorist attacks were aimed at cafes that embody the Parisian lifestyle. But culture and commerce are closely paired in Paris, and neither has stopped after the attacks. This panoramic view shows Apple's flagship store in France across the street from the Paris Opera. In mid-December, Apple's store looked as heavily trafficked as ever, with dozens of shoppers checking out the gadgets for sale.

Galeries Lafayette opulence
10 of 19 Stephen Shankland/CNET

Galeries Lafayette opulence

Each year, the Galeries Lafayette erects a massive Christmas tree display in its central atrium. Here, perfume seller Christian Dior gets the central position under the tree. The flow of shoppers -- many of them tourists from other countries -- was continuous in the department store in mid-December.

Galeries Lafayette picture windows
11 of 19 Stephen Shankland/CNET

Galeries Lafayette picture windows

The Galeries Lafayette builds elaborate animated displays to attract shoppers each holiday season. A month after the terror attacks, there were a couple of security guards visible nearby, but nothing else to hold back thousands of visitors checking out this year's moving robots and interactive electronic screens.

Liberty in France
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Liberty in France

Since the French Revolution, the country has had a motto of "Liberté, egalité, fraternité." The words are carved into government buildings and statues, such as this one at the Place de la République. Liberty has been a bit bruised during a state of emergency declared after the Paris terror attacks, but for most people freedoms haven't been curtailed by a heightened police presence and stronger powers for investigation and detention.

Paris Saint-Germain memento
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Paris Saint-Germain memento

People have left flowers, candles, flags and a scarf for fans of the Paris Saint-Germain soccer team as memorials at the Bataclan theater.

Terrorist attack victims
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Terrorist-attack victims

At the Carillon bar-cafe in Paris, a small memorial honors some of those killed in the terrorist attacks.

Le Carillon and le Petit Cambodge
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Le Carillon and le Petit Cambodge

At le Carillon and le Petit Cambodge, two cafes in Paris that suffered terrorist attacks November 13, flags have been strewn from balconies to streetlights.

Fixing the flag
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Fixing the flag

A woman tidies up the monument to terrorist-attack victims at the Place de la République in Paris.

Place de la République memorial
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Place de la République memorial

Thousands of bouquets, flags and candles memorialize terrorist-attack victims at the central monument at the Place de la République in Paris.

Roses in a bullet hole
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Roses in a bullet hole

Roses are arranged in a bullet hole at le Carillon, a cafe attacked by terrorists in Paris.

Place de la République memorial
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Place de la République memorial

The central monument at the Place de la République in Paris has become an informal memorial to victims of the November 13 terrorist attacks.

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