November 2015 Paris attacks

==Background==
{{see also|Terrorism in France|Opération Chammal}}

France had been on high alert for terrorism since the [[Charlie Hebdo shooting|''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting]] and [[January 2015 Île-de-France attacks|a series of related attacks]] in January by militants belonging to [[Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula]],<ref name="AFP summary"/> and had increased security in anticipation of the [[2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference]], scheduled to be held in Paris at the beginning of December, as well as reinstating border checks a week before the attacks.<ref name="AFP summary"/>

Throughout 2015, France witnessed smaller attacks: the February [[2015 Nice stabbing|stabbing of three soldiers]] guarding a [[Jew]]ish community centre in [[Nice]],<ref>{{cite web|title=French soldiers wounded in Nice Jewish centre attack|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31118020|publisher=BBC News|access-date=14 November 2015|date=3 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118183533/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31118020|archive-date=18 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> the June [[Saint-Quentin-Fallavier attack|attempt to blow up a factory]] in Saint-Quentin Fallavier,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Walker|first1=Peter|last2=Malik|first2=Shiv|title=France launches terror inquiry after decapitated body found in factory attack|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/26/one-dead-in-attack-on-french-factory|website=The Guardian|access-date=14 November 2015|date=26 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028051547/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/26/one-dead-in-attack-on-french-factory|archive-date=28 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> and the August [[2015 Thalys train attack|shooting and stabbing attack]] on a passenger train.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chrisafis|first1=Angelique|title=France train attack: Americans overpower gunman on Paris express|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/21/amsterdam-paris-train-gunman-france|website=The Guardian|access-date=14 November 2015|location=Paris, France|date=22 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116155005/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/21/amsterdam-paris-train-gunman-france|archive-date=16 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Bataclan theatre had been threatened a number of times because of its support for Jewish organizations and Israel.<ref name="Greenhouse15Nov">{{cite magazine|magazine=The New Republic|first=Emily|last=Greenhouse|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/123878/life-and-death-on-the-boulevard-voltaire|title=Life and Death on the Boulevard Voltaire|date=15 November 2015|access-date=17 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117004956/https://newrepublic.com/article/123878/life-and-death-on-the-boulevard-voltaire|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Two Jewish brothers, Pascal and Joël Laloux,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/paris-bataclan-theater-targeted-isis-because-jewish-owner-concert-venue-has-history-2185017|title=Concert venue has history of anti-Semitic attacks|work=International Business Times|date=14 November 2015|access-date=15 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116180556/http://www.ibtimes.com/paris-bataclan-theater-targeted-isis-because-jewish-owner-concert-venue-has-history-2185017|archive-date=16 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bataclan.fr/bataclan.php|title=History of le Bataclan|publisher=Bataclan|access-date=15 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714024111/http://www.bataclan.fr/bataclan.php|archive-date=14 July 2015}}</ref> owned the Bataclan for more than 40 years before selling it in September 2015.<ref name=BataclanJewish>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/paris-attacks-live-updates/paris-theater-had-been-owned-by-a-jewish-family/|title=Paris Theater Had Been Owned by a Jewish Family|author=Dan Bilefsky|newspaper=The New York Times|date=14 November 2015|access-date=14 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115042126/http://www.nytimes.com/live/paris-attacks-live-updates/paris-theater-had-been-owned-by-a-jewish-family/|archive-date=15 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2011, a group calling itself [[Army of Islam (Gaza Strip)|Army of Islam]] told French security services they had planned an attack on the Bataclan because its owners were Jewish.<ref name="Greenhouse15Nov" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lepoint.fr/societe/le-bataclan-une-cible-regulierement-visee-14-11-2015-1981544_23.php|title=Pourquoi le Bataclan est-il régulièrement visé?|work=Le Point|date=14 November 2015|access-date=14 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114014204/http://www.lepoint.fr/societe/le-bataclan-une-cible-regulierement-visee-14-11-2015-1981544_23.php|archive-date=14 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=French mag: Bataclan an Islamist target due to Jewish owners|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/french-mag-bataclan-an-islamist-target-due-to-jewish-owners|website=The Times of Israel|access-date=14 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116053321/http://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/french-mag-bataclan-an-islamist-target-due-to-jewish-owners/|archive-date=16 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Fransk magasin: Bataclan har jødiske eiere|url=http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/uriks/Fransk-magasin---Bataclan-har-jodiske-eiere-8243620.html|website=Aftenposten|access-date=14 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116134447/http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/uriks/Fransk-magasin---Bataclan-har-jodiske-eiere-8243620.html|archive-date=16 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the weeks leading up to the Paris attacks, ISIL and its branches had claimed responsibility for several other attacks: the downing of [[Metrojet Flight 9268]] on 31 October<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bbc.in/1Of4U7D|title=Updates: Russian airliner crashes in Egypt's Sinai peninsula|date=31 October 2015 |publisher=BBC News|access-date=31 October 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20151113030611/http://bbc.in/1Of4U7D|archive-date=13 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20151101-russian-plane-crash-sinai-egypt-broke-air-says-aviation-official|title=Russian plane that crashed in Egypt 'broke up in air'|work=France 24 News|date=November 2015|access-date=2 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102111150/http://www.france24.com/en/20151101-russian-plane-crash-sinai-egypt-broke-air-says-aviation-official|archive-date=2 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[2015 Beirut bombings|suicide bombings in Beirut]] on 12 November.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Barnard|first1=Anne|last2=Saad|first2=Hwaida|title=ISIS Claims Responsibility for Blasts That Killed Dozens in Beirut|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/13/world/middleeast/lebanon-explosions-southern-beirut-hezbollah.html|access-date=12 November 2015|work=The New York Times|date=12 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113035119/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/13/world/middleeast/lebanon-explosions-southern-beirut-hezbollah.html|archive-date=13 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ISIS claims responsibility for Beirut southern suburb attack|url=https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2015/Nov-12/322821-isis-claims-responsibility-for-beirut-southern-suburb-attack-statement.ashx|location=Lebanon|work=[[The Daily Star (Lebanon)|The Daily Star]]|date=13 November 2015|access-date=13 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151112230753/http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2015/Nov-12/322821-isis-claims-responsibility-for-beirut-southern-suburb-attack-statement.ashx|archive-date=12 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Intelligence agencies]] in Turkey and Iraq had reportedly warned of an imminent attack on France months beforehand, but said they never heard back from the French authorities until after the attacks.<ref name=IrishTimes>{{cite news |title=Iraqi intelligence says it warned France of imminent attacks |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/iraqi-intelligence-says-it-warned-france-of-imminent-attacks-1.2431195 |access-date=11 June 2019 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/paris-attacks-live-updates/turkey-warned-french-twice-about-attacker-official-says/ |title=Turkey Warned French Twice About Attacker, Official Says|work=The New York Times|date=16 November 2015|access-date=3 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903090605/https://www.nytimes.com/live/paris-attacks-live-updates/turkey-warned-french-twice-about-attacker-official-says/|archive-date=3 September 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/turkey-warned-france-twice_5649c5ebe4b060377349be9c|title=Turkey Says It Warned France Twice About Paris Attacker|work=The Huffington Post|date=16 November 2015|access-date=19 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119100040/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/turkey-warned-france-twice_5649c5ebe4b060377349be9c|archive-date=19 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''[[The Irish Times]]'', a senior French security official said they receive this kind of correspondence "every day".<ref name="IrishTimes" />

This was one of two terrorist cells sent to Europe by the Islamic State in 2015, the other cell consisting of three Syrians was apprehended by [[GSG 9|German special police]] in [[Schleswig-Holstein]] in mid September 2016.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/hamburg/Mehrjaehrige-Haftstrafen-im-IS-Prozess,terrorprozess132.html|title=Mehrjährige Haftstrafen im IS-Prozess|last=NDR|access-date=9 September 2018|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312194021/https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/hamburg/Mehrjaehrige-Haftstrafen-im-IS-Prozess,terrorprozess132.html|archive-date=12 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>