Paris Terror Attack: Harrowing Rescue From The Bataclan Theater

Yesterday marked ten years since the worst terrorist attack carried out on French soil. On November 13, 2015, eleven terrorists, backed by the Islamic State (Daesh), entered Paris and carried out a series of coordinated attacks throughout the city. Over the last week, French media has been filled with recaps of the night’s events and a variety of survivor stories. One that stands out recounts a harrowing rescue of a pregnant woman attending a concert in the Bataclan Theater; her savior, a man whom she’d never met and who she lost sight of before the night was over.

Night of Terror

Just as Americans are well aware of the significance of 9/11, the date of November 13 is etched into the collective consciousness of the French people. That evening, between 9:16 and 9:47 pm, three vehicles, each carrying three terrorists, traced three separate routes through the streets of Paris. They were armed with Kalishnikovs and knives and wore explosive belts. Before the clocks of Paris struck ten, they had killed 130 people and injured more than four hundred.

Their plan had been to carry out three separate attacks. The first attack was aimed at the Stade de France, where a friendly soccer match was underway with France facing Germany. Fortunately, this attack was thwarted when the three assailants assigned to the job were turned away from the stadium. They roamed the surrounding neighborhood, each one setting off his explosive belt in areas where people were dining or loitering. Despite the intensity of each blast, only one civilian was killed, but many people were hurt.

A second trio of terrorists, headed for the 11th arrondissement, one of Paris’ liveliest districts with a vibrant restaurant scene. They swiftly and efficiently drove to four different nightlife spots. At each of the first three, the assailants exited the car, fired their Kalishnikovs at people seated at outdoor tables, then jumped back in the car and headed to the next location. At their last stop, a terrorist entered a restaurant and blew himself up after declaring that his act was a response to France’s military presence in the Middle East. Luckily, he was the only person to die from the explosion. However, in roughly 25 minutes, team two managed to kill thirty-nine people and injure dozens of others.

Strangers in Peril

Meanwhile, as the above attacks were being carried out, an innocent crowd of concertgoers was rocking out the evening at the Bataclan Theater, where the American band Eagles of Death Metal was performing. A young woman, named Charlotte (she prefers to withhold her family name) had come to the theater that night with her friend Mathilde. The two had tickets close to the stage, but having recently learned she was pregnant, Charlotte suggested they move to the balcony, where they’d be less likely to be jostled by the frenetic gyrations of spectators in the pit.

Also in the theater that night was Sébastien Besatti. Unlike Charlotte, who was happily employed in the music business and was looking forward—along with her partner Lionel—to parenthood, Sébastien had little to celebrate that night. He had recently lost his job and was dissatisfied with both his long-term partner and a woman he’d been seeing on the side. He lived in southern France and had a busy weekend ahead, attending a housewarming party for one friend and the wedding of two others, all of whom seemed to have their lives on track.

At 9:45 pm, however, as the third car of terrorists was nearing the Bataclan Theater, Sébastien was on the main floor, enjoying the show with his friend Jeff. Minutes later, their Kalishnikovs flattening all who stood in their way, the three gunmen entered the theater and began firing on the crowd. They had stationed themselves in front of the main exit. Thus, the route audience members had used to enter was now blocked. Some spectators found their way to the side door exits as the band fled the stage. As the gunfire continued, many chose to lie still and pretend to be dead.

Jeff and Sébastien noticed a potential flaw in their assailants’ onslaught. All three would fire simultaneously until they were out of ammunition, then pause in unison to reload. During one of these intervals, the two friends ran for their lives; Jeff crawling across the stage to find a rear exit, and Sébastien running to a stairwell that led to the second floor.

Upon hearing those first shots, Charlotte knew her life was in danger. She and Mathilde immediately hit the ground and crawled to a balcony exit. Once in an adjoining hallway, they made their way to a bathroom. Around the same time, two of the terrorists headed upstairs. They took positions on the balcony as the third man commandeered the stage. All three trained their guns on the main floor, where they continued to shoot anyone showing signs of life.

From her precarious hiding place, Charlotte overheard one of the men yell “Allahu Akbar!” All she had read about the attack on Charlie Hebdo, which had taken place earlier that year, made her certain of the Islamic battle cry’s significance. The assassins would try to kill as many people as possible before committing suicide. After failing to find a refuge in the room’s false ceiling, Charlotte then looked for ways to block the terrorists’ entry. This plan also failed. Undeterred, she took off her high heels and boldly abandoned the inadequate safe space.

An Instinctive Bystander

Daniel Psenny, a reporter for Le Monde, happened to live in a 3rd-story apartment on the other side of a narrow passage bordering the theater. He appreciated his front-row perch where he could observe the animated crowds that regularly left the concert venue; crowds that occasionally became too rowdy and broke into scuffles. On this night, when he heard the first gunshots, the unsuspecting journalist opened his window to see what was going on.

In the street below, he could see people running from the side exit doors and others lying prostrate in the street. He called the police, but their communication lines were overwhelmed by reports flooding in from multiple attack sites. He then called his paper Le Monde. The daily journal had already dispatched reporters to the Stade de France and the 11th arrondissement. Extrapolating from this news, Psenny now understood what was happening outside his apartment.

In recounting the night’s events, Psenny points out that he had never worked as a war reporter. He stayed away from violent stories and was terrified upon realizing his proximity to bloodshed. Despite fearing for his safety, however, he returned to his open window. Standing in the shadows, he trained his cellphone on the street below and began filming, unknowingly producing what would become the only live recording of the tragic night’s events.

It was then that he noticed a young woman hanging from a second-story window, and two men clinging to the theater’s facade immediately over her right shoulder.

An Escape into Danger

Upon reaching the second floor of the theater, Sébastien began searching for a room in which to hide. He tried in vain to open several doors that were either locked or barricaded by others hiding inside. Then, he saw an open window. He climbed over the balustrade and found foot and handholds on the exterior of the building, where he would be hidden from view. He knew that a jump from that height might prove fatal.

Minutes earlier, Charlotte, now separated from Mathilde, had spotted the same window. She’d hoped that if she lowered herself while clinging to the base of the balustrade, she might withstand a drop to the ground. Once suspended, however, she had second thoughts. She managed to find a small toehold to lessen the strain on her arms, but knew she could not hang on indefinitely. She spotted a dumpster in the street and whispered to people below, begging them to relocate it beneath her. “I’m sorry,” came one reply, “there’s shooting in the street.” All who could were running for cover or helping their loved ones to safety.

To his right, Sébastien saw David Fritz Goeppinger, also clinging to the facade. When David asked him for his name, this small sign of humanity boosted Sébastien’s morale. Then he heard Charlotte, below to his left, pleading for help.

Knowing that terrorists were prowling the second floor and that the window was in full view of the adjacent corridor, with gunshots still ringing out, Sébastien courageously went back into the building. Leaning over the balustrade, he extended first one hand and then the other, pulling Charlotte back into the theater.

Separated in an Instant

Once inside, Charlotte was far from safe. She rushed to the previously chaotic corridor from which she had fled, finding it now empty. Knowing a terrorist could discover her at any minute, she ran toward a closed door, her stocking feet traipsing through pools of blood. When she tried to open it, she found it blocked. “Mathilde, it’s me,” she whispered, having no idea that her friend had found her way out of the building. This time her plea was answered. A fellow fugitive opened the door and let her enter.

Roughly fifteen people were hiding inside the cramped and darkened equipment room. Unable to clearly distinguish faces, Charlotte held the hands of two other women for the next two and a half hours. No one uttered a word.

While absolute silence reigned inside the hideaway, much that was taking place on the other side of the door could be heard: the movements of the terrorists, their laughter as they shot through the windows at people in the street, victims screaming, and the beginning of hostage taking. Sébastien, who had rejoined David on the outdoor ledge, had been discovered. He and David were now among the eleven prisoners under the jihadis’ control.

An Impossible Rescue

According to a minute-by-minute reenacted animation published in Le Monde this week, two police officers from the local Anti-Crime Squad (BAC) reached the Bataclan less than ten minutes after that third attack vehicle arrived at the theater. When they entered the auditorium, one of the officers immediately shot the terrorist on the stage, setting off his explosive belt. His partner called for backup.

Twenty minutes later, an elite special crime squad arrived, agents of the Brigade de recherche et d’intervention (BRI), unsure of the situation inside. Were they dealing with terrorists? How many people had been killed? How many lay wounded? Were people trapped? Were there hostages? None of this was known. What was known, however, was that the assassins carried automatic weapons and were probably wearing explosive belts.

They immediately began securing the first floor, eventually assuring survivors that it was safe to exit and establishing routes to evacuate the wounded. Around 11 pm, one of the BRI officers reached the room where the hostages were being held. When he tried to open the door, someone inside yelled out, telling him to stay away, that there were armed terrorists inside threatening to kill them.

Negotiations ensued between a member of the BRI and one of the terrorists, who communicated over cellphones. The jihadi’s demands were unacceptable; his threats, if carried out, unthinkable. During this impossible bargaining session, 18 members of the BRI quietly positioned themselves outside the room. One hostage who was glued to the door later stated that she heard absolutely no sound on the other side of the door until all of a sudden, shouts to stand back were followed by deafening blasts that shook the building.

An instant later, BRI agents pushed through the door, advancing behind a large shield that now became a target of non-stop gunfire. They immediately began dragging the closest hostages to safety while the officer in front continued to advance. Unaware that there were two shallow steps in front of him, he momentarily lost his footing, and the shield tumbled out of his grasp. Using a handgun to defend himself, he fired at one of the terrorists, hit the madman, and detonated his belt. The blast fortuitously blew the villain’s accomplice down a staircase at a right angle to the tiny space. The officer followed after, delivering a lethal shot to this third and final attacker.

Miraculously, only one hostage was hurt during the rescue.

Bonded by Trauma

In the days, weeks, and months that followed the November 13 attacks, many survivors had difficulty believing that what they’d gone through had actually happened. In interviews with police, they found themselves recounting circumstances that seemed distant, vague, and unreal. Many were baffled by what actually took place that night. They’d witnessed only a small slice of a horrifying and illogical series of events.

The trauma spread well beyond those who had found themselves in the midst of bloodshed and panic. Their loved ones, acquaintances, and most Parisians were also reeling from the assault. It’s impossible to comprehend the scope and extent of the psychological aftershocks. In 2020, a psychiatrist, who had been treating a young man with agoraphobia, told of his deep-seated regret over losing his patient on the night of the attacks after assuring the man that it would be safe to dine out.

Initially, Charlotte knew nothing about the man who had saved her and her baby from a potentially deadly fall. After being trapped in different rooms—Sébastien with the terrorists and Charlotte with a cowering crowd of concertgoers—the momentary companions left the Bataclan, escorted by different rescue teams. It was Lionel, Charlotte’s partner, who was determined to track down the nameless hero.

He posted a notice on Life for Paris, a website initially created to help survivors navigate medical care, government support services, and legal representation. His plan worked. A month after their terrifying encounter, Charlotte and Sébastien at last knew each other’s names. They’ve remained fast friends and supported each other ever since.

It’s been a long and circuitous recovery for these two survivors, who have handled their unexpected notoriety quite differently. Charlotte wished to remain anonymous. She despised Psenny’s video, which reduced her to a dangling victim and robbed her of the chance to announce her pregnancy to family and friends. Sébastien, on the other hand, wooed by the press, has shared his story repeatedly. In 2021, when 19 members of the terrorist organization went on trial, Sébastien testified before the court. Charlotte avoided the witness stand but attended the tribunal to support her confidant and ally on the day that he took the stand.

Ten years out, the two remain extremely close. In the words of Sébastien, speaking of Charlotte:

Endnotes

• Charlotte gave birth to a healthy baby girl seven months after the attack and married Lionel.
• Sébastien lives in his hometown of Arles. He has written a memoir about the attack, the trial of the perpetrators, and his coming to terms with the night’s events, titled Qu’est-ce que je faisais là ?
• David Fritz Goeppinger reported for France Info Radio through the 150-day trial to prosecute the attackers. Last month, he released his second book, Il fallait vivre.
• Daniel Psenny recently released a documentary film titled Vendredi noir that appeared on French TV on the eve of the attack’s 10th anniversary. Charlotte participated in the production.