The Louvre, Centre Pompidou, Palais de Tokyo and Musée Rodin along with Paris’s many other museums and cultural institutions are closed today, 14 November, the first of three days of national mourning after terrorist attacks last night.
Paris Photo at the Grand Palais closed today and will not reopen. The fair released a statement saying: "Under the order of the Ministry of Culture and Communication and the Prime Minister all cultural institutions in the region of Ile-de-France are closed today.” Many commercial galleries are closed too.
President Francois Hollande has called the killing of more than 120 people by gunmen and suicide bombers an “act of war” organised by militant Islamists. Many of the victims were attending a rock concert. Other targets included bars, restaurants and a football match at the Stade de France, which Hollande was attending.
Jean Jullien, a London-based, French designer, created and posted Peace for Paris (illustrated above), which has been widely reproduced. The Palais de Tokyo posted a version on its website, for example. Jullien told Wired magazine that it was a spontaneous design that took him about a minute to create: "It’s a message of peace and solidarity. I didn’t do it to benefit from it in any way."
As a symbol of solidarity the top of the Empire State Building in New York, the Sydney Opera House and the National Gallery in London along with many monuments worldwide were illuminated with the Tricolor.
Update: All museums will be closed on Sunday.