Overview

The history of the Fifth Republic is marked by terrorist attacks that have shocked the French people and placed their leaders in the position of having to shoulder the ultimate responsibility: that of embodying a nation struck by horror. From the actions of the OAS, which directly targeted General de Gaulle, to the mass killings by Islamist terrorists during François Hollande's five-year term, to hostage-takings such as that of the Algiers-Paris flight during the cohabitation between François Mitterrand and Edouard Balladur, and the assassination of Professor Samuel Paty in October 2020, all presidents have been confronted with these turning points, when politics takes a back seat and it is necessary to act according to one's conscience in the solitude of power.