--- description: France is now "at war" title: Hunt for Suspects in Paris Attacks Spreads Across Europe image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf90856fa105091c/698871503c1639375245abf1/42-79236997.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hunt for Suspects in Paris Attacks Spreads Across Europe  by [Vivienne Walt / Paris](/author/vivienne-walt/)  ## Vivienne Walt / Paris Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 16, 2015 4:46 PM CUT  Belgian police take part in an operation at the district of Molenbeek in Brussels on Nov. 16, 2015. Belgian police take part in an operation at the district of Molenbeek in Brussels on Nov. 16, 2015.Ye Pingfan—Xinhua Press/Corbis  by [Vivienne Walt / Paris](/author/vivienne-walt/)  ## Vivienne Walt / Paris Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 16, 2015 4:46 PM CUT French and Belgian officials mounted [major](http://time.com/4114305/paris-attacks-molenbeek/ "undefined") [sweeps](http://time.com/4114167/paris-attacks-suspects/ "undefined") of suspected militants in both countries on Monday in an attempt to dismantle [the terror network](http://time.com/4113864/paris-attacks-isis-homegrown-terrorism/ "undefined") that plotted the devastating attacks in Paris, while French President François Hollande cautioned the country that France is now “at war”—and is likely in for a long fight. For only the second time in the country’s history, both houses of the French Congress met not in Paris, but 16 miles away in the ornate Versailles chateau. That underlined the sense that Friday’s attacks had left the government deeply shaken. The attacks, the biggest assault on the capital since World War II, left 129 people died and about 350 injured. Addressing the politicians in the ornate, frescoed hall of the chateau, Hollande said he was hugely ratcheting up France’s military strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), which claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks. Within hours of Friday’s attacks, the French leader imposed a national state of emergency, giving police expanded powers to scoop up suspected jihadists. Hollande said that France’s biggest aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, would leave for the Middle East on Thursday, tripling the number of Rafale bomber jets capable of striking ISIS positions in Syria and Iraq. On Sunday night, [French jets dropped 20 bombs over Raqqa](http://time.com/4113706/paris-terror-syria-bombings/ "undefined"), taking out arms depots and a training center, according to French officials. “We are not aiming to contain Daesh,” Hollande said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. “We must destroy this organization.” He thanked the United States for helping France in coordinating the bombing on Sunday night, and reminded French politicians that the battle against ISIS—increasingly looking like a war—would require “patience.” He said legislation to extend the country’s state of emergency for three months would go before lawmakers later this week, and he said he would meet with American and Russian leaders to discuss coordinating their efforts in the fight against ISIS. “We are at war against jihadist terrorism which threatens the whole of the world, not only France,” said Hollande, looking drained from the past three days, but with many hints of anger over the attacks. “We are fully aware that it will take time.” And also rare for France, Hollande’s address ended with the entire Congress standing solemnly and singing the French national anthem “Le Marseillaise.” Despite the show of unity and patriotism, key French political figures made it clear on Monday that they fully expected more terror attacks in France. That message was difficult to hear for many shaken Parisians, as they returned to work on Monday after a weekend of nerve-racking emotion. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told the RTL radio network that he believed further attacks in France were almost inevitable. “Even if we managed to foil several terror attacks, \[terrorists\] can and will strike again,” he said. “I am not saying this to scare people but so that everybody is aware.” ### See the World Show Solidarity for France After the Paris Attacks  The Tokyo Skytree illuminated the color of the French flag in Tokyo, on Nov. 15, 2015. Takashi Aoyama—Getty Images  Jerusalem's Old City walls illuminated in the colors of the French national flag in solidarity for the victims of the Paris attacks, in Jerusalem on Nov. 15, 2015. Abir Sultan—EPA  Tower Bridge in central London, Britain is lit in the colors of the French flag on Nov. 14, 2015. Jack Taylor—EPA  People take look at the Christ the Redeemer statue, lit with the colors of France's flag in solidarity with France after attacks in Paris, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Nov. 14, 2015. Leo Correa—AP  Hundreds of people attend a vigil for the victims of the Paris attacks in Trafalgar Square, central London Nov. 14, 2015. Jack Taylor—EPA  Bratislava Castle is lit in red, white and blue, the colors of the French flag, in Bratislava, Slovakia on Nov. 14, 2015. Vladimir Simicek—AFP/Getty Images  The International Peace Bridge, which connects Canada and the United States, glows with the colors of the French flag in honor of the victims of the Paris attacks, in Buffalo, NY Nov. 14, 2015. Gary Wiepert—AP  The Washington Square Park arch in New York City is lit with the French national colors in solidarity with the citizens of France on Nov. 14, 2015. Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images  San Francisco City Hall is lit up with blue, white and red, the colors of the French flag, following the Paris terror attacks, in San Francisco, CA on Nov. 13, 2015. Stephen Lam—REUTERS  The Brandenburg Gate is illuminated in the French national colours in tribute for the victims of the Paris attacks in Berlin Nov. 14, 2015. Paul Zinken—EPA  Colors that resemble the French national flag are seen on top of the tower of One World Trade Center in New York City onNov. 13, 2015. Li Muzi—Xinhua Press/Corbis  Pedestrians walk in front of the Sydney Opera House as its sails are illuminated in the colors of the French flag in Sydney, Australia on Nov. 14, 2015. Daniel Munoz—Getty Images  People walk past the Sydney Town Hall as it is lit in red, white and blue, resembling the colors of the French flag in Sydney, Australia on Nov. 14, 2015. William West—AFP/Getty Images  The High Roller at The LINQ Promenade on the Las Vegas Strip is lit up on Nov. 13, 2015. Ethan Miller—Getty Images  A man rides next to the Taipei 101 building in Taipei, Taiwan, as it lit up with the colors of the French flag on Nov. 14, 2015. Sam Yeh—AFP/Getty Images  The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is lit as China expressed their solidarity with France, in Shanghai on Nov. 14, 2015. Johannes Eisele—AFP/Getty Images  Lights in the colors of the French flag, light up the Auckland Museum to remember victims of the Paris attacks, in New Zealand on Nov. 14, 2015. Hannah Peters—Getty Images  The Angel of Independence is seen with the colors of France in Mexico City on Nov. 14, 2015. Manuel Velasquez—Anadolu Agency—Getty Images  The CN Tower lit up in support of France in the face of tragedy, on Nov. 13, 2015. Cole Burston—Toronto Star/Getty Images In a flood of details surfacing on Monday about the attackers and the investigation, it became clear that French police and intelligence officials had missed crucial signals and bungled law enforcement actions, both in the run-up to Friday’s deadly assault and in the chaotic hours after. Samy Amimour, 27, a Frenchman from the Paris suburb of Drancy and one of the suicide bombers from Bataclan concert hall massacre that killed 89 people, had in fact been subject of an Interpol international arrest warrant. France had requested the warrant in 2012, after Amimour slipped out of sight of police, violating a judicial travel restriction because he was suspected of jihadist involvement. Also on Monday, Turkish officials said they had twice warned France about Omar Ismail Mostefai, 29, another of the Bataclan suicide bombers, but that French authorities had never responded. Mostefai, an Algerian-French resident of a town south of Paris, blew himself in the concert hall. And French police failed to arrest Salah Abdelslam, 26, who rented the Belgium-registered VW Polo that transported the Bataclan attackers to the concert hall, when they stopped his car on the highway linking Paris to Belgium in the hours following Friday’s attack. Belgian and French police have mounted a massive manhunt for him ever since. Those errors appear perhaps understandable amid the chaotic aftermath of Friday’s attacks. But it has left Hollande and his cabinet vulnerable to criticism that their strategy might have given jihadists opportunities to strike. “Everyone knew that this kind of terror was going to happen,” Jean-Pierre Filiu, a longtime former French diplomat in the Middle East, told TIME on Monday. “It was not an ‘if,’ it was a ‘when.'” He said part of the problem has been years of distrust between intelligence agencies in the U.S., Turkey and France, which has led to inexact sharing of information: “It is dysfunctional.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4114601/paris-attacks-france-belgium-isis-isil/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4114601/paris-attacks-france-belgium-isis-isil/"},"headline":"Hunt for Suspects in Paris Attacks Spreads Across Europe","datePublished":"2015-11-16T16:46:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:55.677Z","description":"France is now \"at war\"","url":"https://time.com/4114601/paris-attacks-france-belgium-isis-isil/","keywords":["France","Know Right Now"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf90856fa105091c/698871503c1639375245abf1/42-79236997.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Vivienne Walt / Paris"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf90856fa105091c/698871503c1639375245abf1/42-79236997.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"BELGIUM-BRUSSELS-OPERATION","caption":"Belgian police take part in an operation at the district of Molenbeek in Brussels on Nov. 16, 2015.","creditText":"Ye Pingfan—Xinhua Press/Corbis","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4114601/paris-attacks-france-belgium-isis-isil/","name":"Hunt for Suspects in Paris Attacks Spreads Across Europe"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Inside the Firefight at Paris Concert Hall","description":"Exclusive Video: Inside the Firefight at Paris Concert Hall","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bTdQbfBh/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-11-14T20:13:47.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bTdQbfBh.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4114601/paris-attacks-france-belgium-isis-isil/","duration":"PT2M10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4114601/paris-attacks-france-belgium-isis-isil/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```