A special church service is taking place in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Sunday evening to mourn the 129 people killed in Friday's attacks.
The bells of the world-famous cathedral tolled to remember the victims at 6:15 p.m. and mass started 15 minutes later.
Inside Notre Dame ahead of the service https://t.co/mN9bnSG7GR— Tim Chester (@timchester) November 15, 2015
There were huge queues and a strong security presence at the entrance to the cathedral. Inside, the congregation, some of whom had travelled into the city especially, waited for it to begin hushed silence. Streaks of red white and blue lit up the walls by the alter in Paris' cavernous cathedral.
Service booklet at Notre Dame. pic.twitter.com/iP5RoJqXaL— Tim Chester (@timchester) November 15, 2015
The bells were only faintly audible inside the cathedral itself, mingled with a louder siren at one point.
"Fight back with strength from within," Monsignor Eric de Moulins-Beaufort said delivering the sermon to the congregation.
A streak of red, white and blue in Notre Dame. pic.twitter.com/psQpEE8bZL— Tim Chester (@timchester) November 15, 2015
Notre Dame, like other major Paris sites like the Louvre and Eiffel Tower, has been closed since the attacks but it opened up for church-goers on Sunday.
The mass is being said by Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois who, in a statement, commented ahead of time that it was for the victims and their families and France.
Catherine, 50, near the front of the queue for service at Notre Dame. Has been to Mass 3 times since Friday. pic.twitter.com/dJ8YjbSfid— Tim Chester (@timchester) November 15, 2015
"We ask that grace be the artisan of peace," he said in the statement. "We need never despair of peace if we build on justice."
The mass is also being broadcast on KTO, Catholic television.