Bomb alert at the Printemps
Today, I had a lunch meeting at a restaurant located inside the department store Le Printemps. When I got there around noon, I parked my bike just outside the store and tried to walk inside. But the store was getting evacuated. A few minutes later the block was cordoned off. It later transpired that five sticks of dynamite (without a detonator) were found in one of the store's bathrooms as described in a letter sent to the French news agency AFP and signed by the previously unknown “Front révolutionnaire afghan”. Here is a New York Times report for more information.
There was no panic among the shoppers and passers-by admiring the holiday window displays. As a matter of fact, people did not seem worried in the least. I hooked up with the person I was meeting and we agreed that she would call me once she had arranged for alternative plans (the lunch meeting involved a large group). I went up boulevard Haussmann to do some holiday shopping still on my list and about an hour later met the group at another restaurant by the Opera.
In retrospect, the whole thing feels a bit weird. I read that the terrorists’ tactics were considered unusual and conspiracy theories are already surfacing. If the goal was to strike fear in the hearts of Parisians, it seems to have fallen flat. This evening, I was supposed to be out to a dinner which got cancelled (nothing went according to plan today). EJ had planned to bring the boys to see the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps window displays. So off we went to see the dancing teddy bears and other fairy-like scenes. We walked the traditional stretch, got roasted chestnuts and then hopped on the metro back home. As if nothing had happened…
kelloucq
le 16.12.08 à 21:54
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