On Friday, November 13, 2015, the tragic day of the terrorist attacks that plunged France into mourning, Mathieu G. was at the Bataclan, standing at the entrance to the venue next to a small platform near the mixing desk. He had come to see the Eagles of Death Metal perform with a friend. What began as a joyful evening quickly descended into horror: the gunfire from the attackers, the screams, the cries, the panic, the smell of gunpowder and blood.
The 45-year-old photographer (who did not wish to give his full name), whom we met a few days before the commemorations of the attacks, remembers everything, including the young woman in tears who said, “They’re going to kill us all, we’re all going to die.” He stared at his phone. “I looked at pictures of my children and told myself, ‘It’s not possible, I’m not going to die tonight.'” He also remembers one of the assailants standing 2 meters away, reloading his weapon. In that moment, “It was as if my brain told me, it’s now or never.”
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