Airport Terminal Evacuated in London
HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: We believe several attackers with semi-automatic or automatic AK-47s, in fact, barged in and burst into that concert hall and started mowing people down. We want to get you caught up on what we know at this hour. But I believe we have the Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo, who is now briefing reporters and holding a news conference. Let's listen in on what she has to say about what happened in Paris yesterday.</s>ANNE HIDALGO, PARIS MAYOR (via translator): Part of this Paris, which we all love, this open Paris of -- it's a happy city, happy to participate in all the cultures of the world. It is strong and diverse. This is the Paris which was attacked, no doubt because this model of living together, which is so evident in our city, is unbearable for fanatics. It's unbearable for those who want to reduce the whole of mankind, to silence the message that we want to get over here. With all the questions of the region, I thank them for being here, Natalie (ph) for being here and for the support she has given at this moment of coming together. I thank Monsieur Rope (ph) and the socialist (ph) group. Also the colleges (ph) group of (inaudible) economist group, and (inaudible), chairman of the center independent group and the radical leftist group represented by Jean Barnardmo (ph). We have all come to say that this model, this way of living, it is a place where we like controversy and discussions. That's democracy but democracy doesn't deny the humanity of others. We don't want to kill people. That's what we have to say here. We will be stronger. We will be stronger than those who want to reduce us to silence so that our way of life is weakened or annihilated. And I want to say to the victims and their families that all our thoughts are with them at the present time. Many present families suffering, they have lost loved ones, often very young people, and this pain is something we share. I also want to reach and thank on behalf of all of us ...</s>GORANI: All right. You've been listening to the Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo, saying essentially that multiculturalism, that the way of life here in Paris bringing people together is unbearable for fanatics. Also saying that Paris will be stronger than the terrorists who want to silence the people who live here. Clarissa Ward, our senior international correspondent, not too far away from my position here near the concert hall where the worst of the attack took place. There, you have the mayor as well. We heard from the French president. We're even hearing from opposition politicians all vowing that they will not be silenced by the terrorists. And I believe we're looking at live pictures now of people tying black ribbons around the French flag. And we continue to see, by the way, security official vehicles leave the site of the Bataclan right here behind me. Clarissa, talk to us a little bit about the official French reaction. What might come next?</s>CLARISSA WARD, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER: Well, Hala, I mean as you said, the mayor there really trying to emphasize that France will not be cowed by this attack, that the French will not allow their system of living peacefully, different peoples, different religions, coexisting, cohabitating, that it will not allow that to be threatened. Obviously, ISIS' motivation here, you heard from that very fiery statement saying this is just the beginning of the storm, Francois Hollande calling this an act of war. This is really a declaration of war against secularism, laicite as they call it here in France, and on the French way of life. So you're hearing a lot of rhetoric from the government saying that they won't be cowed, that they won't back down, but at the same time there are a lot of questions to be answered. At this stage, we don't yet know the identities of those eight attackers. Who were they? Are they French nationals? Did they spend time in Syria and Iraq? According to some eyewitness, they were speaking French, some of them. Some of them mentioned this is what you get for what you're doing in Syria. And certainly, that was reflected in the ISIS statement as well, threatening more attacks of this nature as long as France is a part of this coalition that is bombing ISIS targets inside Syria and Iraq. Now, we've heard from French media reports that the remains of those eight attackers are now being forensically examined. They will be looking for DNA to give some clues as to their identity. And Hala, as we discussed earlier, this is just nine months after that terrible massacre Charlie Hebdo. The world was shocked by that. This, we're talking much higher numbers, much more sophisticated operation, multiple targets, ISIS saying that they chose targets deliberately and specifically. This was a carefully calibrated operation. And what the French authorities will be wanting to know now is how much of it was funded and organized by ISIS and their leadership in Syria and Iraq and how much of it was done here in France on the ground, what networks are still in existence that facilitated the orchestration of this attack.</s>GORANI: All right. Clarissa Ward, thanks very much. Who financed this? Who organized this? Who got the weapons? Where were these individuals trained? Did they receive training? Did they travel outside of France? All questions right now, we do not have answers to that. Investigators will be looking at. The story not just in Paris this hour, we turn to London where a major airport terminal is under evacuation after a suspicious article was found. Unclear what's going on there, but our international correspondent, Phil Black, is on his way to Gatwick as we speak. What can you tell us Phil?</s>PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hello. So Gatwick Airport, South of London, the city's second major airport after Heathrow. This could just be a precaution, but it's a -- it is a significant one. We're told that all of the north terminal -- there are two key terminals there, the north and the south -- the north terminal has been evacuated. And you know, I've spoken to passengers on the ground that have been moved from the terminal area into nearby buildings. And they since told us they are now being moved again that they're feeling is that the evacuated area, the perimeter is being expanded. Now, we don't know precisely why this is the case just yet. We haven't confirmed that information. As I said, it could be precautionary, but it s certainly points to the nervousness that I think guarded with the responsibility of protecting key infrastructure and members of the public would be feeling in this city this morning. And for that -- and that is why the prime minister here is chairing his emergency committee, known as COBRA, here. Effectively, at the top of that agenda is to determine whether or not there's any risk or any heightened risk or heighted threat to the risk of a terrorist strike here in the United Kingdom. The terror threat level here remains severe as it has done for some time now, the second highest level, which shows an attack is likely. Today, the prime minister is -- the senior members of his government intelligence and defense department will be assessing intelligence and information to determine whether or not that needs to change, whether or not any other need or precaution need to be adjusted as well. But what we're seeing here, or hearing reports of at the moment at Gatwick Airport is certainly evidence of the nervousness and the precautions that have been taken here. At least that is I would say the evacuation of the entire North terminal at Gatwick Airport. We're on our way there now to try and determine precisely what's going on, what the reasoning for this was, Hala.</s>GORANI: All right, Phil Black. Thanks very much. Phil saying perhaps just a precaution. But if it is, it is a significant one with a large part of Gatwick Airport in London evacuated. Let's bring in Sajjan Gohel, international security director of the Asia Pacific Foundation and a terrorism expert and Olivier Guitta as well, managing director of GlobalStrat. Thanks to both of you. Sajjan, I want to start with you here. When you heard of these coordinated attacks, six of them across the French capital, the weaponry used, the fact that they were suicide bombers in many cases, seven at least out of the eight. What went through your mind in terms of what you think actually happened here?</s>SAJJAN GOHEL, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY DIRECTOR, ASIA PACIFIC FOUNDATION: Well, this is an attack on an unprecedented scale in the West. We have seen marauding terrorism before, such as in Mumbai in 2008 when done in roam the streets, talked in hotels and restaurants and Jewish cultural center, similar what manifested in Paris. But what's also interesting is that suicide bombers were utilized. This is the largest number of suicide attacks in western Europe, not since the 77 bombings in London have we witnessed something like this. I think it is just illustrative of how shocking this whole attack.</s>GORANI: All right, Sajjan Gohel -- Olivier Guitta, if you can - by the way, I want to tell our viewers why I suddenly turn to my right. Someone rolled a piano, right -- a piano in and started playing. I can't hear him or her play anymore, but I did out of the corner of my eye see the piano, there they go again. Perhaps just sort of just showing that, you know, civilization that art, that those who were targeted here at a concert hall that in their memory and their honor this person is playing a tune on a piano that has just been rolled in. So quite a surreal scene but just to explain to our viewers exactly what is going on out here as the media, the world media, have gathered here to report on this tragic story. Olivier Guitta, I want to ask you a little bit about homegrown terrorism as well, because as we saw with Charlie Hebdo individuals who commit these crimes don't necessarily travel outside of France. Amedy Coulibaly, who took so many hostage at the Kosher supermarket, had not traveled outside of France. What do you make of what happened here yesterday?</s>OLIVIER GUITTA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, GLOBALSTRAT: You are correct. I mean this is the big question to know if the terrorist were directly imported from Syria and came in or it was just the brains behind the attack that were asking the foot soldiers in France to coordinate an attack. You are correct in pointing out that Coulibaly was not really having traveled to other places. But for the time being, there's always been links at least between people that have the experience of having traveled in JD (ph) theaters to be some kind of mentor to some others and there was also Djamel Beghal that was the mentor of Coulibaly in jail and that helped him get more radicalized.</s>GORANI: All right. Olivier Guitta and Sanjjan Gohel, thanks very much. I don't know if our viewers can hear this but there's a grand piano that was just rolled out in the middle of the crowd and in the middle of this group of journalists and someone playing Imagine by John Lennon quite loudly. So perhaps, you watching us all over the world can hear it. In the meantime, we're going to take a quick break, a lot more of our breaking news coverage on CNN. Stay with us.