''Before the Lebanese civil war, Beirut
was known as the Paris of the Middle East. Today, Paris looks more and
more like the Beirut of Western Europe, a city of incendiary ethnic
tension, hostage-taking and suicide bombs. Parisians have returned to
the streets, and to their cafés, with the same commitment to normality
that the Lebanese have almost miraculously exhibited since the
mid-1970s. Même pas peur, they have declared with admirable
defiance on posters, and on the walls of the place de la République. But
the fear is pervasive, and it’s not confined to France. In the last few
weeks alone, Islamic State has carried out massacres in Baghdad, Ankara
and south Beirut, and downed a Russian plane with 224 passengers. It
has taunted survivors with threats of future attacks, as if its deepest
wish were to provoke violent retaliation..''
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