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Hala Gorani Tonight
Attacks in Paris; Raid Aimed at Terror Suspects. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired November 18, 2015 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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HALA GORANI, HOST: Thanks for joining us, I'm Hala Gorani, we are again in Paris this evening for a special edition of the World Right Now. I'm coming
to you live from the Place de la Republique. But the big action was north of the center today. Let's get you straight to tonight's developments.
Residents of one Paris neighborhood were jolted awake by a violent police raid aimed at terror suspects. Officials say another attack was imminent.
Take a look at the dramatic footage.
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GORANI: Gunfire, explosions, all ringing through the streets, captured by many on amateur video. The result, two suspects killed, eight detained. One
of the dead, a woman, authorities tell us, who detonated a suicide belt.
Belgian state T.V. is reporting that she was the cousin of this man, Abelhamid Abaaoud. He is thought to be the ring leader behind Friday's
attacks. Now, DNA tests are underway to determine whether Abaaoud was in fact killed in the raids. Is he one of the bodies in that apartment in
Saint-Denis?
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GORANI: Phone surveillance is what led authorities to believe Abaaoud was hiding in the area. More than 100 police descended on Saint-Denis. It was a
military operation. Thousands and thousands of shots fired. CNN's Atika Shubert was on the scene.
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ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Reports of gunfire and explosions emerged on social media early Wednesday morning in the
northern suburb of Saint-Denis in Paris where suspects linked to Friday's deadly terrorist attacks were believed to be holed up.
One witness described the scene from his apartment nearby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can still hear the gunfire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When did this start? And for how long has it been going on?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From 4:30, because I was sleeping and my wife woke me up to ask me if I'm hitting something. And I say no. But absolutely there was
gunfire. Then I wake up and now I can't sleep.
SHUBERT: Police blocked off roads and told residents to stay inside their homes in Saint-Denis, the area home to the Stade de France sports stadium
where three suicide bombings took place on Friday.
We were down at the scene where the police operation was underway.
We are just being moved back and I'm sorry but I cut you off.
Moments later investigative police officers began circulating the area where we were standing.
Oh and an explosion has just gone off. This is still very much an ongoing operation. That was quite a large explosion in that direction. A second one
now. Just hold on. No gunfire that we can tell so far a third explosion.
The raid lasted approximately six hours ending around 10:30 local time. Two terrorist suspects had been declared dead, one of them a woman who blew
herself up with a suicide belt. Eight others were arrested, including three men who were escorted out of the apartment by police. One witness described
the scene inside the building to CNN affiliates in France (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (As translated) It felt like the ceiling of the restroom was cracking. I tried to protect myself between the doors of the
rest room and the bedroom I stayed like that with my baby. Really we could see the bullets, the light of the laser pointing our way. Really it was
explosions, we could feel the building really shaking. I could hear the guys upstairs running and they were screaming at each other.
SHUBERT: By noon residents were allowed back in but police continued to seal off the street where the suspects lived as forensic teams combed the
aftermath. It has been a terrifying ordeal for the residents of Saint- Denis, one they can only hope is finally over.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Paris.
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GORANI: Well we want to show you now some of the amateur video that captures some of the gun battle that went on in the raid. I was telling you
earlier 5,000 rounds of ammunition were shot and it was a quasi-military operation in the streets of Paris, we heard that from the prosecutors.
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GORANI: You saw it briefly in Atika's reporting, it is so dramatic, however, this video, that it's worth taking another look.
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[Gunfire]
GORANI: The raid started at 4:20 a.m. I imagine many people on that street were asleep, and they woke up to the sounds of gunfire. They also woke up
to the sounds of detonations.
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GORANI: A Belgian counterterrorism official tells CNN it was confirmation from a wiretap that led authorities to raid that apartment in the Paris
suburb of Saint-Denis believing the female cousin of the alleged ring leader was inside.
Our Nic Robertson has more details on the investigation.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Police sources tell CNN the raid in Saint-Denis was right on time, because the suspects were
ready to strike, according to French authorities. Police zeroed in on the apartment after they picked up telephone communications from a wiretap late
Tuesday. A Belgian counterterrorism official tells CNN--
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: They intercepted communication, a wiretap, indicating that a relative of Abelhamid Abaaoud was in this in
location. So the thought was, well, perhaps he could be there as well, because the French had also developed separately strong information
suggesting that he was in Paris.
ROBERTSON: Belgian officials say a woman blew herself up during Wednesday's raid. Investigators are now using DNA to analyze body parts found in the
building to determine whether Abelhamid Abaaoud was there, and if he was killed.
Police are also looking at cell phones believed to belong to the attackers and found at the scenes of Friday's attacks. French authorities say one of
the phones was found in a garbage can near the Bataclan Hall. According to officials, it contain a message sent before the attacks began to the effect
of, okay, we're ready.
Investigators say this may have been the coordination message that launched Friday night's attacks. French authorities say clues found on the phones
helped lead them to Saint-Denis.
FRANCOIS MOLINS, PARIS PROSECUTOR: (As translated) we have evidence collected over phones, surveillance video footage and witness testimony
that suggest Abaaoud was present in a conspirator's apartment in Saint- Denis.
ROBERTSON: Intelligence officials tell CNN they found encrypted apps on the phones which appear to have left no electronic trace of any messages or any
indication of who would have been receiving them. All small pieces of a larger puzzle.
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GORANI: All right. We continue our special coverage from Paris. We are live from the Place De la Republique right now and behind me you can still see
that shrine to honor the victims. But the action certainly is spreading outside of Paris, especially with that dramatic raid today.
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GORANI: Also coming up after the break, CNN is live inside Syria tonight to bring you the very latest on the multinational fight against ISIS. Stay
with us.
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GORANI: Welcome back to our special coverage, I'm Hala Gorani. We're live in Paris.
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GORANI: As we've been reporting Belgian counterterrorism officials are telling CNN it was communication from a wiretap that led authorities to
raid an apartment in Saint-Denis north of Paris believing that the female cousin of the alleged ring leader of the Friday attacks was inside.
Our Nic Robertson is tracking developments. He is right in now in Saint- Denis. Nic, first I've got to ask you about this apartment in Saint-Denis. Are the bodies of those who were killed or who killed themselves in the
case of the female suicide bomber, are they still inside that apartment?
ROBERTSON: Yes, Hala, it's not clear. I mean as recently as about an hour ago we heard a controlled explosion coming from the apartment so it appears
that the police are still going through that apartment building.
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ROBERTSON: The prosecutor did describe a scene which indicated that the building was destroyed to a level that it wasn't physically safe to move
around it. They clearly have issues with concerns about booby traps. It would seem on the surface relatively easy to take a DNA sample from these
bodies. But then you know the matching is not always - not always that straightforward.
What we saw them do with the bodies of the attackers last Friday is use fingerprint analysis as the sort of the first and most direct route to try
to find out you know who the bodies are. So it appears at the moment as if the process of going through that building, the process of getting the
bodies out, or the parts that are important for an investigation like this extricated from rubble may not be that easy.
I mean, the prosecutor did describe how destroyed the building was. One can imagine in amongst that rubble a forensic search is not something that can
happen quickly and of course it's night now and that may make things slower and harder, Hala.
GORANI: Yes. And lastly, of course, the focus of this raid was partly based on intelligence that authorities thought could lead them to the ring leader
of the Paris attacks, Abelhamid Abaaoud. What is the latest on what authorities are saying about whether or not they believe he was present in
that apartment?
ROBERTSON: Well, I suppose if what we have from the Belgian authorities is accurate and there is no reason to doubt it at this time that it was his
cousin, one of the two women it now appears who were in that apartment.
It appears to have been her who detonated the suicide belt that she was wearing. The cousin, his cousin was there, there's a connection there which
may strengthen the suspicion for authorities that believe he might have been there.
They will have had the opportunity to have done some voice recognition, if you will, on some of those perhaps intercepted phone calls. Although we
know that they were using apps to communicate.
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ROBERTSON: And as he has been so highly profiled in the media in the past few days then perhaps he would have recognized it wouldn't have been good
to be talking on the telephone. So perhaps the wiretaps won't reveal by voice that he was there. Certainly the fact that his face was all over the
media here for the last sort of 36, 48 hours would have made it very difficult for him to move around without being recognized.
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ROBERTSON: All of this is sort of contributing factors. But it doesn't tell us the bottom line that you are asking Hala, you know where does this
position him right now?
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ROBERTSON: Obviously authorities, the prosecutor really wasn't giving that sort of information away.
GORANI: All right, Nic Robertson is in Saint-Denis. Thanks very much. Now let's turn to the Middle East and the fight against ISIS.
France, as we've been reporting is sending an aircraft carrier to the region to boost its own fire power.
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GORANI: It's called the Charles de Gaulle, it's carrying dozen of fighter jets. It's expected to reach the eastern Mediterranean soon. It set off
today, Wednesday.
A Syrian opposition group says French and other military air strikes have killed at least 33 ISIS fighters over the past few days. Activists say the
fierce pounding of Raqqa is forcing dozens of families of ISIS militants to leave and they are reportedly heading east perhaps to Mosul even.
Our senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh is now inside of Syria, and he joins me now live.
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GORANI: Nick, tell us what you know about the impacts these strikes are having on ISIS positions.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well for the first time tonight we're hearing from activists inside that city Raqqa
slaughtered saliently.
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WALSH: We can't corroborate their information but they're normally quite reliable. They are saying then actually the last hours two strikes have
occurred, one against a fuel truck and one against a brick factory. And the one against the fuel truck seems to have caused the first civilian death,
seven civilian deaths, eight injuries. The first since they reported since the uptake in strikes began when the French launched their onslaught three
nights ago.
We don't have a full read out for the numbers of blasts that are hitting the city at this stage. There do appear to be a number. The French have
been saying how it is command centers, recruitment centers, training camps they are particularly going after.
Many questions Hala, about how many targets have suddenly become available, viable in the past 72 hours given the U.S. had been flying over that sea
for a protracted period of time.
ISIS too according to activists have clamped down on the use of the internet (inaudible) for but I think they are concerned that potentially
and information about targeting being given away at this stage. And you mentioned yourself the idea of people trying to leave the city. Very tough
to do at the best of times. ISIS have a tight grip on who goes in and out.
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WALSH: And the traffic to the east, possible, but more complicated, particularly towards Mosul because the Peshmerga have seized Sinjar and the
route that runs between Raqqa and Mosul all the through.
We were there ourselves, they've dug huge trenches across it in multiple places, put earth berms in the way. So getting out of Raqqa could be tough
and there are increasing fears for the civilians in there. They're trapped in this.
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WALSH: And as we're also hearing too Hala, where we are inside of Syria the debate about what comes next. There's increased airpower being used but
the Kurds amassing to the north of that city despite the fact they don't really have the weapons, despite the fact they don't seem to have the
numbers at this stage, talk is increasingly common here about them potentially moving against Raqqa on the ground. You might think it's
farfetched but it's gaining greater currency here Hala.
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GORANI: Nick, how much -- I mean these, you are talking about these strikes. And of course there are also concerns about civilians trapped
inside of that city, Raqqa, the Syrian self-proclaimed capital of Daesh. But how much would it be weakening them from the air at this stage? Is
there any way to measure that?
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WALSH: Not really, in all honesty. We are reliant upon the breakdown we're given by the French, at times the Russians, too. The coalition who again
say they are before hitting targets around Raqqa in their last press release over the last 24 hours. And potentially even too the Syrian regimes
choice of targets as well.
The activists (inaudible) silently say look you know we see occasionally buildings being hit more than ones, sometimes a target is large building
that requires to be hit more than once. Sometimes ISIS move between buildings to avoid air strikes.
A U.S. official today trying to explain this massive glut of targets that have suddenly become available since the French started bombing. They say
well look things pop up, they get vetted, there are targets opportunity it isn't simply a linear process. You can have a cluster at some point that
become available. But the question really is, is this a political message, and if it is, are the places being hit places that have been hit before.
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ROBERTSON: Or are civilians being put at risk? Obviously the French and the coalition have tight rules of engagement, there are concerns amongst U.S.
officials the Russians are potentially more lax about whether or not civilians get caught in the blasts. They would deny. But that is the fear
now. Raqqa is the focus of the bombing complain and there are still people living inside it that don't work or support ISIS, Hala?
GORANI: All right, thanks very much. It's such a difficult situation for some of the civilians. Nick Paton Walsh with the latest on the military and
its potential impact inside Raqqa as France response forcefully, militarily in Syria against these ISIS targets.
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GORANI: Coming up, that terrorist group claims this soft drink contained a bomb that brought down the Russian Metrojet plane. We'll have the very
latest from Cairo in a few minutes.
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DMITRY MEDVEDEV, RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTER: (As translated) The terror attacks that Russia and France just faced affected the whole world. The terrorism
expansion is indeed a global challenge, a challenge to all of the civilized world. And it requires a united response, coordinated, fully concerted
action.
GORANI: A call to arms by Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev. He's urging the world to join the fight against the terrorist group as Russia
ramps up its own attacks inside Syria. Take a look at these Russian warplanes. They are taking the fight to the group's self-proclaimed capital
Raqqa. That's what Russian authorities are telling us by releasing this material.
Russia of course was motivated to amp up its bombing campaign because of the ISIS claim that in fact it bombs a Russian passenger jet a few weeks
ago. And we have more on that angle of the story as we come to you live from Paris this evening.
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GORANI: A magazine published by the terrorist group claims to show the bomb in a brought down Russia's Metrojet 9268 passenger plane.
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The photo as you can see shows a soft drink can a wire, and what appears to be a switch. This is in the ISIS magazine. Let's cross straight to Egypt,
CNN's Ian Lee is live in Cairo with us with more on this claim and on this picture. Ian?
IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Hala, it is a pretty innocuous can of soda that was used, allegedly, as a bomb to bring down
this plane. Now explosive experts have told CNN that that can could have held about 500 grams of explosive material, enough to take down a plane.
But it is fairly primitive. You have that can. You have the detonator, and you have the switch.
Now, ISIS is saying that they were able to exploit security at Sharm el Sheik airport and smuggle that can on board. And they said that initially
this bomb was intended for a plane from an American-led western coalition member state that was bombing ISIS in Syria and Iraq. But only later did
they change that to a Russian plane because of Russia's involvement in Syria.
And then if you look at this bomb, the one thing that an explosive expert has told CNN is that this type of bomb would be a suicide bomb, that
someone would have to detonate it while on board the plane. Now, we don't know if this is the bomb that took down the plane. It could be ISIS trying
to throw investigators off their trail. But it does cause -- it is cause for a lot of concern for aviation safety officials as this is a fairly
primitive bomb that was able to take down a plane. At least allegedly.
GORANI: All right. Ian Lee in Cairo thanks very much.
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GORANI: With that latest claim we'll see how that affects airport security in the future if indeed it is confirmed that's what brought that passenger
jet down.
Up next on the World Right Now, I'll take a closer look at the neighborhood where today's raid took place.
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GORANI: Saint-Denis does have a large immigrant population. The crime rate is relatively higher than the rest of the country. I will also have this
powerful conversation.
[Speaking foreign language]
GORANI: The man whose wife was murdered in the Paris attacks wrote a Facebook post that was shared almost 200,000 times. My interview with him
coming up later this hour.
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GORANI: Welcome back, everybody, I'm Hala Gorani. We continue our live coverage of the Paris attacks.
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GORANI: Paris police say two suspects died during a dramatic raid in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis. They have not been identified. Take a look
at some of the overnight video.
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GORANI: You can hear the sound of heavy gunfire and explosions during the raid. By the way, this started at 4:20 in the morning. You can imagine
people jolted out of bed in the middle of the night. The raid targeted suspected ring leader Abelhamid Abaaoud and another man. But the Paros
prosecutor says the suspects are not in custody, they are not saying they are on the loose and certainly not confirming they are among the dead.
Also, among the top stories residents among the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek are holding a candlelight vigil. They want to commemorate those
killed in Friday's Paris attacks.
The district has been the focal point of the search for suspects in Belgium. Several raids have been conduct there had this week and two men
were arrested residents though saying that these suspects do not represent them.
Police in Turkey say they have detained eight people believed to be linked to ISIS. State media say the group was arrested after flying in from
Casablanca, Morocco. Documents found on one subject revealed plans to travel from Ismail through Greece, Serbia and Hungary, with Germany as the
final destination. Yet another potential piece of the puzzle in an unrelated story.
One other story I want to tell you about now. The world of sport is in mourning after the death of New Zealand rugby star, Jonah Lomu.
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He played 63 times for the All Blacks behalf kidney condition cut his career short. Here's Alex Thomas.
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ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT Jonah Lomu was Rugby Union's first global mega start emerging as the sport turned professional in the mid-
1990s. He scored 37 tries in 63 matches for New Zealand's famous All Blacks. But played only eight years at the highest level before a kidney
problem forced him to retire. It was long enough though to establish him as a legend of the game.
JONAH LOMU, FORMER RUGBY PLAYER: I guess the legacy I want to leave with rugby is that (inaudible) that it's still growing and that people enjoy it.
It's a sport that people should just enjoy.
THOMAS: Although he never won a rugby world cup, Lomu was a star of both the 1995 and 1999 tournaments; scoring 15 tries, a record that was only
recently equaled at the World Cup in England.
He stood out for his speed and size, standing around 6'4" tall, or 196 centimeters, and weighing 120 kilograms, almost 19 stone. After almost
single handedly demolishing England one time opposing capital Will Carling dubbed Lomu a freak.
It was a gentle jibe borne out of the frustration many felt of not being able to stop the fierce some winger. His skills even inviting an offer
from NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys.
GEORGE GREGAN, FORMER AUSTRALIAN RUGBY CAPTAIN: He could around, he could run over the top of you. But off field, as soon as that final whistle sort
of blew, the softest handshake, big smile on his face.
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THOMAS: Lomu's international career started in Rugby Sevens. And he played a key lobbying role as the shorter snappier form of the game was voted back
in the Olympics for Rio 2016. Now he will never see its return.
A kidney condition forced Lomu to have a transplant in 2004. Yet remarkably, he came back to play for top Welsh club, Cardiff Blues. However
the organ failed in 2011 leading Lomu to return to dialysis and await another transplant ending his career for good.
While many wonder what else a healthy Jonah Lomu might have achieved it's a measure of the man that he never gave the impression of being bitter about
what he was denied, rather, he was humble and thankful for what we had.
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GORANI: All right, the neighborhood where today's raids took place is called Saint-Denis, it's north of Paris, it's part of Greater Paris
essentially.
It has many immigrants, it certainly has its problems. Take a look.
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GORANI: This was the sound residents of Saint-Denis found themselves waking up to on Wednesday, gunfire and explosions ringing out before dawn as
police carried out raids searching for suspects behind Friday's terrorist attacks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (As translated) I was woken up by a deafening noise. Gunshots. It woke me up. I jumped out of bed, I opened the window. I stuck
my head outside. I wanted to watch. The police told me, close the window, sir, close it now.
GORANI: But for the neighborhood this has become an increasingly familiar scene. Stade de France was the first target of Friday's attacks that left
129 victims dead.
Just under six miles from Paris Saint-Denis is the main town of the multi- ethnic Saint-Denis department. Centered around the Basilica of Saint-Denis, the burial place for many French kings, this is now an area with a high
proportion of immigrants. 28% of the population in 2012 were immigrants according to the French National Institute for Statistics.
The overall unemployment is higher than 13%, and it has a relatively high crime rate. It was in 2005 that riots broke out near Saint-Denis, in
(inaudible) with violence spreading quickly to the rest of the department. The unrest lasted four weeks as French youth were protesting against their
living and economic conditions, and against discrimination.
A decade later, violence strikes again in a different and more horrific form and the wounds for this suburb have reopened.
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GORANI: Well I'm joined by Olivier Royant, Editor in Chief of a Paris Match magazine, thanks for being with us.
We were discussing now the fact that a female suicide bomber blew herself up and killed herself. This is yet another unprecedented event in France.
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OLIVIER ROYANT, EDITOR IN CHIEF, PARIS MATCH: Absolutely. The first time that a (inaudible) female that it happened in France. Daesh is not used to
female suicide bombers in Europe. They're used in Iraq, and it's a strange.
The question is as we have seen in the past, this young girl being (inaudible) lured by Daesh, by ISIS on internet. We are seeing some of them
moving to Syria. But we don't know if this young one was moved to Syria. But this new phenomenon is absolutely worrying.
GORANI: This raid was a military operation. 5,000 bullets were fired, several hours unfolding, explosions inside an apartment. The building
itself --
ROYANT: Almost collapsed.
GORANI: Right. It's almost - it's almost unsafe to navigate inside the building. Saint-Denis. Talk to us a little bit about that particular area
in Paris.
ROYANT: I'm sure all the international viewers who come to Paris they have passed through Saint-Denis. I mean it's the moment when you hit the traffic
before going on the highway. Saint-Denis is both an historical place. The kings of France are being buried in this Basilica. And it's also a very
symbolic because that's the place were France won the world cup in 1998.
At the same time, Saint-Denis is symbolically the last stronghold of the communist party. That's the place where the President of the French
Assembly has an apartment. And it's also a place that was transformed by the new economy. I mean you have seen the T.V. studio, movie studio around.
And also I would say that it's a very diverse - it's a very diverse community.
GORANI: There is an attempt to revitalize it but it still has so many problems. And it mirrors problems in other Paris suburbs of immigrant
populations separated really from the mainstream.
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ROYANT: Yes, most of the question we've been asked these days is about what is the problem with French integration? And I think that probably we are
paying the price of a very long denial. You know we have basic concept of integration on the ideas, merely on ideas, and ore on ideas than on
reality. And there have been among the last years, 20 years, the appearance of social (inaudible), economy scales where young people are not listing
anything from the values of the republic. I mean the things that we are listing when we are school. They are - the French Prime Minister -- they
are -
GORANI: -- they are getting their identity from somewhere else.
ROYANT: Yes, somewhere else. And they are - they are not listing in one of these 18 (inaudible) most I mean the kids are listening to the message that
has nothing to do with the French Republic values.
So I think this terrorist, this French terrorists we are absolutely focusing on the case of the French terrorists because they kill French
people. And they are also coming from what is being called the lost territories of the French Republic. And it is not simply a (inaudible), not
simply a social, but also a cultural.
GORANI: And that's a very long term battle. Yes, I mean you've really -- this is probably multigenerational. But in the immediate future there's an
emergency here, which is every few days we are getting news of a cell that either succeeds in murdering 128, 129 people or is on the verge of doing
the same thing.
ROYANT: I think that's the main problem. I mean we have seen -- I was talking from someone in the airline industry yesterday. They say the way
people can enter France these days is absolutely -- it's absolutely insufficient.
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ROYANT: I mean, when you go to Brazil, when you go to Bolivia, these days when you enter the United States you are getting fingerprints, you are
getting your photos; in France that is not the case. So I think there is people are going to say the French government now, if it wants to protect
its citizens he's going to have to, and with the European government they have to work on controlling the borders. I mean work on the borders.
What we have seen with the terrorists I mean they are using Europe like it's a unified territory. And so far the police and the intelligence
community in Europe has not worked as efficiently as the terrorists working, knowing what Europe is all about, it's all about open borders.
GORANI: Certainly it appears they've taken advantage of that. Olivier Royant, the Editor in Chief of Paris Match, real pleasure having you on,
thanks very much for joining us on CNN. A quick break, we'll be right back.
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[15:45:42]
GORANI: Some of the faces of the victims of the Paris attacks. Hatred can have many faces as we know from these past six days. It produces many more
portrays of grief.
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GORANI: So tonight I want to show you a face of courage. On Friday, Antoine Leiris lost the love of his life and the mother of his infant son when his
wife was gunned down in the Bataclan massacre. He decided to send an open letter to ISIS on Facebook. It was shared almost 200,000 times. I talked to
him a short time ago about his message for the killers and the anguish of searching for his murdered wife.
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ANTOINE LEIRIS, WIFE WAS MURDERED IN PARIS ATTACKS: The past two days before I know she was dead. It has been denied on the road with my brother
to see every hospital in Paris and in the suburbs. And I learned -- [ speaking foreign language ]
GORANI: You learned on Saturday, but still you had to wait until Monday, and you felt bad about that because you weren't close to her?
LEIRIS: [Speaking foreign language]. Dead or alive, that was not the point it. I just want to be with her.
GORANI: And then you wrote this post on Facebook, which is the reason we are speaking, because it has been shared more than 120,000 or 130,000
times. The headline of it is, I will not succumb to hate. Friday night you stole an exceptional life, the love of my life, the mother of my son, but I
will not succumb to hate.
LEIRIS: No.
GORANI: What made you write that?
LEIRIS: [speaking foreign language].
GORANI: And the other thing that you said is [speaking foreign language] we are only two, my son and me, but we are stronger than all the armies of the
world. Which I thought was so beautiful.
LEIRIS: They can never take all the characteristic of - or i don't know about Daesh and, et cetera. We stand free. We stand with the taste of life.
We stand with happiness. We play games with my son. And then no, they don't win. No. No. We stand.
GORANI: Your son is only 17 months.
LEIRIS: Yes.
GORANI: So, he doesn't understand.
LEIRIS: But you feels everything. And he know everything. We talk about it. And then he cried. But he was crying about because his mother -- he missed
his mother. So I took my phone and put some music that he was listening with his mother. And we look at photos. He show me this is my mother. He
said ma, ma, ma, and then he cries, and we cry together. We don't pretend that we are not sad or --
GORANI: Yes.
LEIRIS: -- or devastated. No. We are. But we stand. Since Friday night, life decide for me. Day after day, I will see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:50:04]
GORANI: A very moving, a very sad story from a husband who tells me he lost the love of his life. But refuses to be bitter and refuses to give in to
hate. A lot more coming up on the World Right Now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Defiant in the face of terrorism, we discuss the mood in Paris. It's been evolving over the last several days. That's next.
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(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: All right. Welcome back. Some news just coming in to CNN. Looking here at the notes that I have, we understand that there has been a stabbing
in the city of Marseille.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: A Jewish teacher has been attacked in that city. The attackers we understand were a trio of young men. One of them apparently was wearing a
t-shirt with some sort of ISIS symbol on. That's not confirmed. It's what witnesses are saying.
The teacher's injuries thankfully are not life threatening and officials have not apprehended these attackers they are still on the loose.
Now, back to the situation here. Compassion is definitely flexing its muscles showing that it is stronger than anger here in Paris.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Here with me to look at the mood of the resilient city is journalist Geraldine Schwartz, of La Monde, thanks for being with us.
Now we're saying compassion and resilience because it's true. But what's also true is there's a lot of tension and a lot of fear and the tiniest bit
of concern about a potential attack or something going wrong leads to some sort of panic. This happened to you in a cafe.
GERALDINE SCHWARTZ, JOURNALIST LA MONDE: Yes, well I mean the atmosphere has changed a lot since Sunday. Sunday everybody was outside taking coffee
in the sun. And I think realized on Sunday that actually the attacks were the first, not the last. And that there might be some other attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHWARTZ: Yesterday I was going to the cinema which was totally empty. Like everything is empty. You know the museums are empty. The supermarket was
empty today where I went. And we went out with my friend to take a nice drink on the terrace. And suddenly we had like five or six police cars
driving by. And the terrace was evacuated because there was a parcel bomb in a street nearby.
GORANI: All right, so did it turn out to be anything dangerous or?
SCHWARTZ: Well, not officially.
GORANI: Right, OK.
SCHWARTZ: You know I think many thing are happening that we don't know of course because the security forces cannot give all the information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Do you think there is going to be a before November 13th and an after November 13th in Paris? Was it that much of a significant event just
- if you look at it in the wider sort of longer term perspective?
[15:55:08]
SCHWARTZ: Yes, of course. I mean what I hope personally is that the after 13th November will be a France which will be unified.
GORANI: Yes.
SCHWARTZ: Because the shock was so big. You know, it was so brutal, so cruel that I don't have the feeling that people in the city -- I can't say
for all France, have as far as now been full of hate or have posted extremist things on the social networks.
GORANI: But is there a concern it could happen, though, these things.
SCHWARTZ: Of course it could happen. Of course. But even I mean you can see even the Muslim communities were very supportive. You can also see on the
social networks today I saw a blogger, a quite famous Muslim blogger who is a kind of a star in the suburbs who blogged, hey brothers, lots stop that
shit. You know. So the atmosphere is quite supportive. And my hope is that maybe it's a chance for France actually to unify.
GORANI: OK. Although you have inevitably you are going to have people who are going to react in ways that are not going to lead to unity. Very
briefly, we have just a few seconds. When you look at the future, what word comes to your mind for France?
SCHWARTZ: A couple of years of less wine, less restaurants, and less lightness. You know?
GORANI: Do you think it'll have a -
SCHWARTZ: For sure, but it's not going to be only for France. I mean we should just be aware that what happened here is just the top of the iceberg
and that the real problem is an ideology which spread all over Europe.
GORANI: We've got to leave it there, Geraldine Schwartz of La Monde, thanks very much. I'm Hala Gorani, do stay with CNN. The news continues.
END
