French president Francois Hollande has declared a state of emergency and closed the French borders after at least six coordinated attacks were launched in Paris this evening.
At least six attacks have been reported across Paris, including two suicide attacks and a bombing near the Stade de France stadium, where the national football side was playing a friendly match against Germany.
Reports in France suggest at least 140 people have been killed in the violence around the city after 100 hostages were killed at a theatre in the French capital.
Security forces launched an assault on the Bataclan concert hall and killed at least two of the attackers, however, 100 hostages were killed by the attackers in the theatre.
One official described “carnage” inside the building, saying the attackers had tossed explosives at the hostages.
Officials have confirmed shots were fired in at least two restaurants and at least two explosions were heard near the Stade de France stadium.
A further attack was launched at Central Les Halles shopping mall where a gunman opened fire.
VIDEO: Aftermath of the explosion in #Paris – @russian_market https://t.co/k4HldwHat6
— Conflict News (@Conflicts) November 13, 2015
French president Francois Hollande was at the match at the Stade de France and was evacuated from the stadium to hold an emergency meeting.
A French police union official said there were two suicide attacks and a bombing near the Stade de France stadium.
One of the explosions at the Stade de France can be heard in the video below.
Reported explosion can be heard in this vine during Germany/France friendly at Paris stadium: https://t.co/dKePiW6byC
— Austin Hunt (@AustinHunt) November 13, 2015
The official, Gregory Goupil of the Alliance Police Nationale, whose region includes the area of the stadium, said there were at least three dead in the attacks near the stadium, near two of the entrances and a McDonald’s restaurant.
He said the explosions went off simultaneously.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: “I am shocked by events in Paris tonight. Our thoughts and prayers are with the French people. We will do whatever we can to help.”
US president Barack Obama told a press conference that the violence in Paris “was an attack on all of humanity”.
He said: “Those who think they can terrorise the people of France and the values they stand for are wrong.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the attacks were “heinous and immoral”.
Mr Corbyn said: “My thoughts are with the people of Paris tonight. We stand in solidarity with the French.
“Such acts are heinous and immoral.”
Dreadful news emerging from Paris tonight. Thoughts with everyone involved. https://t.co/rXxytq7yLW
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) November 13, 2015
I am shocked by events in Paris tonight. Our thoughts and prayers are with the French people. We will do whatever we can to help.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) November 13, 2015
The attacks in Paris come in a year which has seen France gripped by the threat of terrorism.
Tonight’s developments brought back memories of January, when one of the world’s great cities was brought to a standstill by Islamist extremists.
On that occasion the French capital was rocked first by the Charlie Hebdo atrocity, when 12 people were killed after gunmen stormed the offices of the satirical magazine.
The sense of panic heightened when there was a subsequent attack on a Kosher supermarket, and the incidents triggered worldwide outrage.
Since then there have been a number of more minor strikes or attempts. In one, three Americans and a Briton overpowered a heavily armed gunman on a train from Amsterdam to Paris.
The horrific scenes in the city tonight represent an escalation compared to the previous incidents.
It is believed that the reported death toll means it is the deadliest atrocity on French soil in recent times. In 1961 a train bombing killed 28 people.
Other bloody attacks in Europe have included the 7/7 attacks in London, in which 52 people were killed, in 2005.
The year before a series of explosions in Madrid killed 191 people.
The reports of mass casualty shootings is likely to increase the sense of alert in other cities, including London.
Security services and senior police in the UK have repeatedly highlighted the risk of a Mumbai-style roaming gun massacre.
Earlier this year police carried out a simulated terror attack in the capital to test the emergency response to such a strike.
