France’s “City of Lights” was attacked last Friday night as Paris fell victim to a vicious attack and what has become an all too familiar site recently. Phyllis Schlafly, a writer for the World Net Daily news website, wrote an article on the attack titled “France closed its borders -- why can't we?” Schlafly reported that eight suicide bombers who were a part of the Islamic State (ISIS) invaded various locations in Paris killing approximately 128 citizens, and wounding 352 others. Many of the victims were from international nations who were targeted at random. It has been reported that ISIS members behind this attack came to France under false pretenses as “Syrian refugees.” However, secretly they maliciously planned to strike fear into the hearts and minds of inhabitants everywhere. This act of war was a daring stand against France and the United Nations.
This is the second attack that has shocked France to its core in less than a year. Last January, two masked gunmen strolled into an office building and opened fire on the employees of a magazine company. BBC News documented the story and called it “Charlie Hebdo Attack: Three days of Terror.” Arabic brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi threatened their way into the busy newsroom of the Charlie Hebdo magazine. They proceeded to shoot the entire editorial staff along with four cartoonists. A total of 12 people were killed in the attack and subsequent manhunt which lasted over three days.
Nations all over the world are afraid that the massacre in France might just be the first “domino to fall” in a planned series of attacks from ISIS. France’s president Francois Hollande has issued a state of emergency reducing movement of citizens and immigrants leaving and entering the country. According to The Washington Post, Hollande stated that France will close its borders to its neighboring countries like Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and Spain but this has yet to be proven true. Since France is part of the European Union, there has been decades of free movement between 26 different countries. This means citizens had the means to travel across the boarder without a passport, and without worrying about border crossings or country protocols. To cease all people entering and leaving the country, France would ultimately have to discontinue its Eurostar train service, close all airports, and prevent all vessels from sailing. As of this moment, France has no control over its borders and must look for new ways to regulate immigrants, tourists, and its citizens.The dream of free movement is no longer realistic in a time of crisis.
More importantly, France is remaining strong with the threat of terrorism within its borders. CNN news writers Paul Armstrong and Brian Walker described President Hollande's reaction to the attack in their article "French President blames ISIS for Terror attacks." He responded with “We will lead the fight and we will be ruthless, and we had to be here among the people who were subject to these atrocities because when the terrorists are capable of doing such acts they must know that they will face a France very determined -- a France united.” President Hollande vowed to continue fighting ISIS alongside the United States and Russia for however long it takes. The nations must unite together to defeat the Islamic State regime once and for all.
