First of the Paris Targets Reopens Its Doors

A La Bonne Biere's doors open once again after 5 died there on Nov. 13
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 4, 2015 11:35 AM CST
First of the Paris Targets Reopens Its Doors
People gather around A La Bonne Biere in Paris during its reopening Friday.   (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)

Three weeks after the deadly terror attacks in Paris, one of the targeted venues has opened its doors again, making it the first of the targets to do so. Customers filtered Friday into A La Bonne Biere—where five people perished at the hands of Islamic State gunmen on Nov. 13—with a crowd of media reps standing outside to commemorate the occasion, AFP reports. After thanking the restaurant's supporters, manager Audrey Bily said, "We have carried out some work, and repainted the walls to wipe away the signs of this nightmare. The Bonne Biere cafe was a place where people meet and exchanged and shared. That is what we want it to be again today."

A banner that read "Je suis en terrasse" ("I am on the terrace") hung above the Bonne Biere's entrance, echoing the defiant message that's been bandied about the city since the attacks, the BBC notes. By most accounts, it was business as usual, with the flowers and notes that had been on the outdoor patio replaced once more with chairs and tables. "I need to feel that life is resuming," one customer told AFP. "It feels good to be here, with people who go to the same cafe, the same flower shop, the same bakery." The nearby Casa Nostra pizza restaurant, also targeted that day, remains closed, as do four more cafes and restaurants and the Bataclan. (President Obama visited the Bataclan concert hall earlier this week to pay tribute to the victims there.)

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