Three Days That Shook France: How Police Hunted Paris Killers

Fifty-three hours into France’s worst security crisis in a generation, President Francois Hollande and his closest advisers came to an agonizing conclusion.

Gathered to supervise the response to a pair of attacks by Islamist terrorists, they were told by police commanders over secure cell phones that the resolution would have to involve simultaneous assaults. That meant synchronizing special-forces teams 25 miles apart against opponents armed with automatic weapons, a rocket launcher and no qualms about more killing.