How Major European Cities Memorialize Mass Terror Attacks: Paris, Madrid and London Facing the Same Memorial Challenge

Abstract

Abstract: Since the terrorist attacks of January and November 2015, Paris is facing the same memory challenge as other European capital cities before her, consisting in knowing how to create a memorial to publicly mark the memory of mass attacks perpetrated by Islamists. In early 2016, a commemorative tree was planted on Place de la République in Paris. But other projects have since taken shape, including a memorial garden behind Paris City Hall and a memorial museum in the Paris suburb of Suresnes. How and why did this plurality of memorial sites and projects come into being? In order to understand that, this article proposes a comparative detour through Madrid and London following the path of the memorials created in these cities in remembrance of the terrorist attacks of 11 March 2004 and 7 July 2005.