A city without lights - Boaz Bismuth

by Boaz Bismuth

Hat tip: Jean-Charles Bensoussan

Paris is still reeling from Friday's terrorist attacks, and already it is being asked to adapt to a new reality -- a state of war • Israel Hayom Foreign News Editor Boaz Bismuth spent a week in the devastated city, listening to residents' stories.

The site of one of the terrorist attacks in Paris

I have covered a lot of terrorist attacks in my lifetime: in Tunisia, Casablanca, Copenhagen, Toulouse, Baghdad, and countless other places. The Israeli Embassy in Mauritania, which I headed for a time, was the target of an al-Qaida attack in 2008. I became a victim of jihadist terrorism when terrorists tried to hurt my staff and my family in the name of Allah. 

But this past week in Paris has been, without a doubt, the worst. Not just because of the sheer number of terrorists (eight or nine) involved in last Friday's assault on the French capital, and not just because of the overwhelming number of victims (129 dead and many more injured), but because of the location: the magical city of lights, which I called home for 16 years. 

Until now, Paris had never experienced a suicide bombing. Last Friday, six terrorists detonated explosives strapped to their bodies and another, a woman, detonated herself in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis during a police raid on Wednesday. The jihadists came to Paris to put out its eternal lights. They succeeded. The city of lights went dark overnight. 

"Look at their expressions. They have seen hell," said French President Francois Hollande to his aides when he arrived at the scene of the attacks in the 11th arrondissement of Paris at 2 a.m. "We are at war," he announced. But with whom are we at war? That is a complicated question, with no clear answer. 

France tried so hard to placate Islam. It built many mosques and afforded a great deal of respect to the world's second most popular religion. When you have 7 million Muslims living in the republic, there is not a whole lot else you can do. We have come such a long way since 1741, when Voltaire's play "Mahomet (Le Fanatisme, ou Mahomet le Prophete)" described the Muslim Prophet Muhammad as fanatical, cruel and cunning. 

Voltaire, one of France's foremost writers throughout history, later changed his stance and praised Muhammad at the expense of Christianity. He, much like the rest of France, made peace with Muhammad and with Islam. 

But the terrorist cells opted to prove to the world that they can, and should, commit horrible crimes in the name of Allah and the prophet. Votaire's change of heart was not enough for the jihadists of Islamic State. They may never have heard of Voltaire, but in a recent announcement they declared that France was a prime target for attacks because of the permissive lifestyle of the "infidels" who inhabit it. 

The people I met this week in France were not in a state of anxiety, fear or disgust. They were in shock and they were having trouble understanding what had happened. The residents of Paris may have experienced terrorist attacks in the not so distant past, but then there was a reason for each attack. In 1980, in the attack on a synagogue on Copernic Street, then-French Prime Minister Raymond Barre said that "this odious bombing wanted to strike Jews who were going to the synagogue and it hit innocent French people who crossed Copernic Street," implying that the Jews were not innocent. The Jews were deeply hurt by the remark, and rightfully so, but the remark was very telling: The French can tolerate terrorism, as long as it does not target the French. The same was true in the 1990s, when the reason was the civil war in Algeria.

Then came the attacks in January this year. First was the attack on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Ostensibly, there was a reason for the attack: It targeted journalists who had dared make fun of the Prophet Muhammad. Two days later there was an attack on a kosher supermarket. Millions took to the streets to protest the assault on journalists and Jews, but no average Frenchman was ever really in danger. Or at least that is what they wanted to believe as they buried their heads in the sand. 

But on Friday, Nov. 13, that construct collapsed entirely. The terrorists set their sights on the Bataclan concert hall (where people of all ages come to listen to music) and a number of cafes and restaurants in the 10th and 11th arrondissements (and who in Paris doesn't frequent a cafe?), and just to demonstrate how random the attacks were, and that absolutely anyone could have been a victim, they set off a number of explosions outside the Stade de France stadium. Everyone goes to the Stade de France, including many Muslims and Africans. 

France was shocked to see the writing that had been on the wall all along. Jihadism had only been looking for an opportunity to strike. Where al-Qaida failed, Islamic State succeeded, and is now a source of true terror in the country. They even managed to get the Eiffel Tower to go dark for three days of mourning. 

There is no doubt that the French do not understand where this terrorist assault came from. They don't understand how France of all places -- the birthplace of human rights, which has welcomed immigrants throughout history -- is paying the price of the jihad it harbors within it, the product of third-generation immigrants from the Maghreb region. 

Apocalypse, tomorrow

I walked around the suburbs of Paris a lot this week. I visited the mosque frequented by Omar Ismail Mostefai, who blew himself up in the Bataclan concert hall in order to kill as many people as possible. I spoke to worshippers at the mosque. Karim, 40, told me the same thing that I heard from every Muslim I spoke to. "What the jihadists are doing is not Islam," he said, but, like everyone else, added that the miserable living conditions and the failed absorption of those sons of immigrants into French society have pushed them to seek the kind of radicalism that Islamic State represents. I didn't hear him say that terrorism is terrorism, regardless of where in the world it is committed. 

It is true that the vast majority of the Muslims with whom I spoke condemned terrorism outright. But they refused to recognize that there is incitement in the mosques. They mainly made excuses. That is the real danger. No one here wants to see that there is a clash of religions underway, even though the images seen from the cathedral in Saint-Denis on Wednesday must have reminded many of those dark days when Muslims and Christians butchered one another. It is precisely this feeling that the French are desperately trying to avoid. It is also the reason why the republic will be very disappointed if the National Front, headed by radical right-winger Marine Le Pen, will make dramatic gains in the regional elections next month. To a certain extent, this was foreseen by French writer Michel Houellebecq in his novel "Submission." The general direction: a head-on collision in the streets of Paris between the extreme Right and jihadists.

On Sunday I visited the Place de la Republique. Among the many French people at the square, a young woman named Valerie was holding a single rose. She looked very sad. Two of her fellow students at the Sorbonne had been killed at the nearby Bataclan. She was also supposed to have gone to the concert that night, but she felt ill and stayed home. On Friday, she shuddered to think, she was jealous of them.

"This is not our Paris," says Valerie, who is studying literature and dreams of becoming a teacher. "Education is important. After these attacks I want to teach in the poor areas. I don't want any more young people to take the path of groups like Islamic State. I want to teach children of all religions the values of my secular republic that respects all religions."

Q: Do you think France will win this battle? 

"Today I don't know," she says. "Yesterday I had an answer. Yesterday I was sure." But like many young people, she is now very confused. 

A group of people around us begins to sing "Bataclan, we will return" and "Stade de France, we will return." Suddenly we hear a loud explosion, and panic sets in. Valerie disappears. The crowd is convinced that this is another attack. Not far from where I'm standing I see an empty stroller with no one around. The parent grabbed the child from it and ran. This is the new reality in France 2015.

Later that day, only a handful of people return to the square. So what if it was only a terrible prank? Just children playing with firecrackers at a very bad time?

Who poured the poison? 

Mark, 50, is a member of the local council in the high-class suburb of Neuilly. This suburb, where former French President Nicolas Sarkozy once served as mayor, is rich and luxurious, the mirror image of Saint-Denis. On weekends, the locals like to visit a famous Italian restaurant, whose patrons include many Jews. Mark is one of them. 

The grandson of the founder of this restaurant, Pierre Innocenti, is a good friend of Mark's. On Friday, Pierre posted a picture of himself and his cousin Stephane Albertini enjoying the Eagles of Death Metal concert at the Bataclan. He was supposed to inherit the restaurant one day, together with his brother. That will never happen now.

"I lost a friend," says Mark, who is having trouble hiding his profound sorrow. "We refused to see the reality as it truly was. I hope that now, the French understand, but I can't say that I'm sure they do." 

This week I walked past the restaurant during the evening. Normally there is a long line of people waiting to be seated. It was closed. The wreaths piled at the entrance told the story of what had happened. Neuilly is seen as detached from the day-to-day reality, as a separate planet, removed from the daily grind. But it, too, fell victim to jihad. The restaurant, one of the symbols of the entire suburb, was closed for three days. 

I was reminded of another Mark, Mark Trevidic, a French judge whose area of expertise is terrorism. This week, many people began viewing him as a prophet of doom after he foresaw Friday's attacks. "We [France] have become Islamic State's number one enemy," he said in an interview on Sept. 30, six weeks before the attacks. "France is the chief target for terrorists." 

After the attacks, Trevidic became very sought after. He was a guest on all the television channels. But he is still pessimistic. He believes that there is still more to come. "There will be more attacks," he says. "We have entered into a confrontation with Islamic State terrorists, who obviously don't expect us to end the strikes in Syria. France will hit them harder and they will respond by perpetrating more attacks on our soil. From now one, this is the logic in which we must operate." 

Trevidic welcomes Hollande's decision to declare a state of emergency in France -- a rare move that was first enacted in 1955 following the outbreak of the Algerian war. But Trevidic asks that France refrain from responding too dramatically. "We are running the risk of pushing moderate Muslims to radicalize if they feel persecuted," he says. "That is exactly what al-Qaida tried to do in the past and what Islamic State is trying to do now." 

Trevidic thinks that France needs to completely change its outlook. The general attitude in his country makes him extremely angry, and you can't blame him. According to him, it is unthinkable that France tiptoe around the concept of war, talking instead about "peace forces," and then be shocked by Islamic State attacks. Just recently, he notes, Islamic State terrorists downed a Russian plane over Sinai and carried out a terrorist attack in Beirut, and immediately afterward set their sights on Paris. 

In the French media, Trevidic was asked whether France needs to recalculate its foreign policy course. 

"The story is to dictate the necessary minimum to a number of countries," he replies. "I am thinking mainly about Turkey because of Turkey's ambivalent attitude toward Islamic State. In a wider sense, I would say that France has lost its credibility in its relations with Saudi Arabia. We know very well that it was this Gulf state that poured the poison known as Wahhabism [the strict interpretation of Islam followed in Saudi Arabia] into the cup. The terrorist attacks in Paris are just a part of the result. To declare war on Islam while simultaneously shaking the hand of the Saudi king is like saying you are fighting Hitler while inviting him to your table." 

Trevidic has had the opportunity to question many French nationals after their return from Syria. Perhaps this is the source of his pessimism. 

"For three years, we allowed this monster to grow," he says. "The Islamic State organization has been dreaming of only one thing: to strike France. They will use any means possible to realize this dream. The last suspect who was in my office in mid-August admitted that he had been asked to carry out an attack at a rock concert. When you see the level of the coordination behind the attacks, you understand that these people are professionals. They are fighters sent to fight us. I think that if today an emir of an Islamic country was to look for volunteers to commit attacks in France, 200 hands would be raised. For 10 years we did nothing. We did nothing in the holding cells, we did nothing online, and we allowed this material to enter every home, exposing 12-year-olds to jihadist videos." 

Many people in France are convinced that the 2005 riots were a precursor to what is happening now. France did not respond too harshly to the acts of the rioters from the suburbs. French Justice Minister Christian Taubira believes in taking a lenient approach in dealing with them. But the fact is that one of Friday's attackers, Mostefai, had committed eight crimes between 2004 and 2010 and did not spend even one day in jail. 

Don't let them win

Eric is an attorney with 20 years experience. I meet him at a cafe in the 17th arrondissement. There are 11 tables; 10 of them are empty. Eric, an expert litigator, does not like the constitutional reform proposed by Hollande on Monday. 

"What is he trying to say?" he asks. "That eight terrorists can change our historical constitution that was inspired by General de Gaulle? We need to take things in the proper proportions. There is a limit to what jihadists should be able to do. They want to change France, and just take a look around: This week we closed theaters, museums and schools. We played directly into their hands. That is exactly what the terrorists want. Islamic State's victory is not just over the attacks in Syria. Victory means maintaining a normal life, without falling into insanity." 

As for himself, he refuses to change any part of his daily routine. 

"We need to move on. I think that the routine is the best escape and I hope that it will soon be restored in France," he says. 

I lived in Paris for 16 years. I always saw it happy and joyous, even after the devastating attacks in January. Then, the French public responded to terrorism by staging demonstrations and marches, expressing their feelings through song and pride. This time it is different. Three days of mourning and a national state of emergency have prompted the French to stay in their homes. 

It is hard to believe that France will bounce back quickly. The attacks of Friday Nov. 13 have left a nasty scar across the face of this magical country. For years, France has been the world's number one tourist destination, but this week every branch of tourism experienced an avalanche of cancellations. The only ones to save the hotel industry were the journalists who came to cover the events. 

Putin, the big winner

Like everything else in life, here too there are winners and losers. The big winner this week was Russian President Vladimir Putin, the man who went to war against Ukraine and annexed Crimea, and then saw the West gang up on him and impose tough sanctions. 

It was only two weeks ago that Islamic State terrorists bombed a Russian plane, and Putin was at his weakest. But he bet on Syria, thus making an unbelievably smart move. Suddenly France, which had previously come out against him and refused to sell him warships, became his ally in the war on Islamic State. The legitimacy he lost in Ukraine, he regained in Syria. The attacks in Paris managed to achieve two impossible feats: They turned Putin into the West's darling, and they turned the lights off in the Eiffel Tower, albeit temporarily. 

But the lights have come back on, in the colors of the French flag. "We are not so patriotic here in France," says Caroline Delase, a French journalist who worked in Israel. "Waving the flag anywhere but at soccer matches is considered old-fashioned." 

But Islamic State terrorists have brought the French flag back into fashion. France is at war, and in war, the first thing you do is to take out the flag. Terrorism has made the French less joyous but more patriotic.

It has been a tumultuous and crazy week in Paris. I thought deeply about what I saw and heard. I thought about those who have been trying to find justification for the violence, to understand the attackers and provide excuses for terrorism, as though desperation can excuse murder. I thought about the humanism that the French are so proud of. Between ceremonies, between attacks and manhunts, I passed by the famous Cafe de Flore. I thought about Nobel Prize Laureate Albert Camus who loved to sit there, on the left bank of the Seine. I thought about the things he wrote in his wonderful book "The Plague" that now ring truer than ever: 

"When war breaks out people say: 'It won't last, it's too stupid.' And war is certainly too stupid, but that doesn't prevent it from lasting. Stupidity always carries doggedly on, as people would notice if they were not always thinking about themselves. In this respect, the citizens of Oran were like the rest of the world, they thought about themselves; in other words, they were humanists: they did not believe in pestilence. A pestilence does not have human dimensions, so people tell themselves that it is unreal, that it is a bad dream which will end. But it does not always end and, from one bad dream to the next, it is people who end, humanists first of all because they have not prepared themselves."

Boaz Bismuth

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=29827&hp=1

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