France remembers victims of terror attacks

Hundreds of people gathered in Paris on Monday to remember the people killed, wounded and bereaved by terror attacks in France and elsewhere.

The annual ceremony, which was led by President Francois Hollande, was organized by victims’ support groups and took place at the Invalides museum.

The names of the 130 victims of the attacks in Paris in November and of the 86 killed in a truck attack in Nice in July were read out. The people killed in attacks in Brussels, Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast and Mali were also remembered.

"Our country had never been attacked to this extent, with such destructive rage, with such barbarian cruelty. That's why it was so important for names, all names to be evoked," said Hollande at the ceremony.

He said he would ramp up the fight against terror and provide more compensation to victims, France 24 reported.

"We must ensure that sustained action is taken to anticipate attacks, deter them and stop them. It's a constant battle and it will need even more resources," he said.

"Terrorism has changed dimension, it has declared war on us. Each of these attacks is different in its horror, but they all have the same people behind them and the same goal: to use Islam, dishonor, and fear mongering to harm our democracy and our culture," he added.

The ceremony, which has been held every year since 1989, took place on the anniversary of the deaths of 170 people who were killed when a bomb exploded on a plane that was flying from Brazzaville in Congo to Paris.

Everyone aboard UTA flight 772 died on Sept. 9, 1989, including 54 French nationals. A French court found six Libyans guilty in absentia 10 years later and sentenced them to life in prison. Libya paid $34m in compensation but did not admit responsibility for the bombing.