How will France respond to the Paris attack?
The way the French press has responded is like this: they’ve put the words “horror” on the front page, “carnage” on the front page, and indeed the word “war”.
Because I think what is different from these attacks from the Charlie Hebdo attacks back in January is that those attacks in January were seen as an attack on French values and French freedom.
But I think last night’s attacks are seen much more as a declaration of war on France.
18 killed here in a street of Paris restaurants busy with diners. The sawdust is to absorb the blood. pic.twitter.com/j7pGQA3tUv
— Jonathan Rugman (@jrug) November 14, 2015
Although the people who carried out these attacks might well argue that France began this war by launching air strikes on Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, so it’s a very different feeling here.
People look stunned, they look completely shocked.
It’s almost too early for them to be angry. But have no doubt, the anger will follow, and we’ll see how France responds to this terrible attack.
Follow Jonathan Rugman on Twitter: @jrug