President Barack Obama paid a midnight tribute Monday to the victims of the Paris terror attacks, laying a single white rose at the Bataclan club where ISIS terrorists unleashed carnage two weeks ago.
Saying nothing in blustery darkness, Obama paused to survey an overflowing pile of bouquets at the entrance to the theater, a makeshift memorial to the 90 who died inside as gunmen stormed though.
He was joined by French President Francois Hollande and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, each arriving ahead of the U.S. President.
It was his first stop in Paris after arriving for climate talks with other world leaders. It took him 45 minutes to get to the site from Orly Airport, where Air Force One touched down late Sunday.
The President’s motorcade arrived at the site in silence, passing down a cordoned-off Boulevard Voltaire at a slow speed. Heavily armed French police stood guard at the corner of Rue Oberkampf, a block and a half from the theater, preventing pedestrians and traffic from passing by.
Obama is one in a succession of world leaders, British Prime Minister David Cameron included, who have paid respects at the Bataclan. But his visit was shrouded by tighter security, occurring under cover of darkness on an abandoned avenue.
Police shouted at nearby residents peering out windows to return inside, and onlookers were told to continue walking toward the Place de la République.
Obama himself was gone before long, remaining at the site for only minutes before continuing onward.