Statement by President of European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker on the first anniversary of the attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015:
“On 13 November 2015, terrorists arbitrarily and barbarically hit at the heart of Paris, there where we like to meet, exchange, experience life together on café terraces and in restaurants, in a concert venue and next to a stadium.
The memory of the victims of that brutal night will remain forever etched in our hearts. They wanted to attack France. But on that tragic night, we Europeans and citizens across the world were all French. It was all of Europe, all democracies, which were attacked. In Paris, as in Brussels or in Nice, the perpetrators of these attacks sought to weaken us by targeting the innocent, women, children, old and young, of all religions and creeds. They failed. Because, together and more united than ever before, we will never renounce the very values, the very freedoms we join forces to defend.
Europe showed that it is determined to pursue this fight, to preserve its democratic, open and plural nature, whilst refusing to compromise when it comes to the security of its citizens.
Today I think of each of those 130 shattered lives, of their families, and of all those who still bear the mental and physical scars of acts of terrorism, and who lead a courageous battle each day to overcome the trauma that has marked them. In my name, and on behalf of the European Commission, I would to like to assure them that, together, we will persevere.”
