As Paris Remains Locked Down, Hollande Calls Attacks An ISIS 'Act Of War'

Paris is mostly shut down Saturday morning as investigations continue into Friday night's horrific terror attacks, which have left 127 dead and scores more wounded.

French President Francois Hollande accused the self-proclaimed Islamic State of staging the coordinated attacks, calling them an "act of war" in a news conference this morning. He said the military would continue to patrol France's streets in coming days to provide security to residents.

At the Bataclan concert hall, where at least 80 people were killed by men firing automatic rifles last night, French authorities are still working to remove bodies.

Concertgoers described scenes of horror at the venue, TV channel France 24 reports:

"There was blood everywhere, corpses everywhere. We heard screaming. Everyone was trying to flee," said Pierre Janaszak, a radio presenter who attended the concert and hid with several others at the venue.

Dozens of others were reportedly killed on the sidewalks outside cafes and bars in a working-class part of central Paris.

While authorities said late Friday that they believed all of the attackers had been killed, they're encouraging Parisians to stay home. Nearly all city facilities and buildings are closed today. Sporting events are canceled, and many subway stations are also closed.

Bruce Hoffman, a national security expert at Georgetown University, told NPR's Kelly McEvers that the attacks were reminiscent of the 2008 attack in Mumbai, India, which left more than 250 dead.

Osama bin Laden urged al-Qaida fighters to stage such attacks in the West in 2010, Hoffman noted.

"They certainly weren't amateurs," Hoffman said of the gunmen in Friday's attacks. "They were battle-hardened and they knew what they were doing. They had tremendous discipline, that they could deploy and strike at exactly the same time."

Years after France (and many other nations in Western Europe) relaxed its border controls, those official restrictions and checks are now being revived, as the BBC reports:

"Border and customs officers will check people, baggage and vehicles entering and leaving France by road, train, sea or plane, said customs official Melanie Lacuire."

The Paris prosecutor's office is expected to provide an update on the death toll and the investigation later today, CNN reported.

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