Controversial Bataclan massacre film postponed
The romantic film centres around a fictional couple who meet during the 2015 terror attack in Paris
A controversial romantic French film about the 2015 terror attack at the Bataclan concert venue in Paris has been postponed, following an outcry from affected families.
The attack, which took place during a concert by US rock band The Eagles of Death Metal, saw masked gunmen storm the venue, killing 90 people.
France’s main public TV channel, France 2, said the love story Ce soir-la (That Night), would be put on hold until victims' associations had been "widely consulted".
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The film had caused a major public outcry and a petition demanding the “hurtful” film be cancelled garnered more than 42,000 signatures.
Claire Peltier, whose husband was killed inside the Bataclan, launched the online petition in November. “This project has hurt and shocked us,” she wrote. “We’re scandalised that a TV project like this could be made so soon after such a violent event.
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“To live our grief, we need silence, restraint, dignity and respect ... and not a romantic fiction aimed at boosting your channel’s ratings.”
The film had been pegged as “a great love story” between a single mother living behind the Bataclan and an Afghan refugee who both rescue survivors at the scene. The attack itself was not to be shown in the film.
