President Obama said Friday that the attacks that plunged Paris into chaos Friday night are an attack on all of civilization.
“Once again, we see an outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians,” he said from the White House. “This is an attack not just on Paris, it’s an attack not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share.”
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Reports out of Paris said there were at least three attacks in the city, leading to the deaths of 35 people. Gunmen reportedly took around 100 people hostage in a theater.
Explosions were reported near a soccer stadium, and a shooting was reported at a restaurant.
President Francois Hollande announced in a live broadcast to the French nation that he has declared a state of emergency and is closing the country’s borders so that no perpetrator of the terror attacks could escape.
He also ordered a curfew, the first in Paris since World War II.
The French military has been deployed around Paris, with a reported 200 troops inserted into the district where at least one of the attacks happened.
There were unconfirmed reports as the evening unfolded that additional terror attacks were underway, beyond the three that had already been confirmed.
Obama called the situation, in which reportedly hostages are still being held, “heartbreaking. Obviously those of us here in the United States know what it’s like,” he said. “Whenever these kinds of attacks have happened, we’ve always been able to count on the French people to stand with us. They’ve been an extraordinary counter-terrorism partner.”
Obama noted that he was on the phone with French President Francois Hollande earlier Friday discussing this weekend’s G-20 summit and global climate talks Paris is hosting at month’s end. However, he was holding off from calling Hollande again, he said.
“I’ve chosen not to call President Hollande because my expectation is that he’s very busy at the moment,” Obama said. He offered the French people his “deepest condolences” and the government the nation’s “full support” in the coming days.
House Speaker Paul Ryan tweeted, “All of Paris needs our prayers tonight.”
Although early reports indicate the Islamic State is responsible, Obama said he was not ready to assign blame yet.
“I don’t want to speculate at this point in terms of who was responsible for this,” he said, referring to events still unfolding. “Until we know from French officials that the situation is under control and we have more information about it, I don’t want to speculate.”
The president called France the United States’ oldest ally. “The French people have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States time and again. And we want to be very clear that we stand together with them in the fight against terrorism and extremism.”
Obama continued: “Those who think that they can terrorize the people of France or the values that they stand for are wrong” and vowed to track down the perpetrators.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes to work with the French people and with nations around the world to bring these terrorists to justice and to go after any terrorist networks that go after our people,” he said.
