PARIS, France - President Francois Hollande said the following speech to the public Friday night, November 13th, after a string of deadly shootings and explosions that left over 120 people dead in Paris. France declared a State of Emergency and was said to have closed its borders.
The following is the full text of his speech:
My dear compatriots,
As I speak, terrorist attacks of unprecedented proportions are underway in the Paris area. There are dozens killed. There are many injured. It is a horror.
We have, on my decision, mobilized all forces possible to neutralize the terrorists and make all concerned areas safe. I have also asked for military reinforcements.
They are currently in the Paris area to ensure that no new attack can take place.
I have also called a cabinet meeting that will be held in a few minutes.
Two
decisions will be taken: A state of emergency will be declared, which
means some places will be closed, traffic may be banned and there will
also be searches which may be decided throughout [the Paris area].
A state of emergency will be proclaimed throughout the territory [of France].
The
second decision I have made is to close the borders. We must ensure
that no one enters to commit any crimes and that those who have
committed the crimes that we have unfortunately seen can also be
arrested if they should leave the territory.
This is a terrible
ordeal which once again assails us. We know where it comes from, who
these criminals are, who these terrorists are.
In these difficult
moments, we must — and I’m thinking of the many victims, their families
and the injured — show compassion and solidarity. But we must also show
unity and calm.
Faced with terror, France must be strong, it must be great and the state authorities must be firm. We will be.
We must also call on everyone to be responsible.
What
the terrorists want is to scare us and fill us with dread. There is
indeed reason to be afraid. There is dread, but in the face of this
dread, there is a nation that knows how to defend itself, that knows how
to mobilise its forces and, once again, will defeat the terrorists.
French
citizens, we have not completed the operations. There are still some
that are extremely difficult. It’s at this moment that the security
forces are staging an assault, especially in a place in Paris.
I ask you to keep all your trust in what we can do with the security forces to protect our nation from terrorist acts.
Long live the Republic and long live France.