The Paris attacks have been declared by Francois Hollande as an “act of war” by the Islamic State. The military have been mobilized, and Hollande has proposed changes to the French Constitution. This national state of emergency has occurred less than a year after the killings at Hebdo and the worldwide campaign of #JeSuisCharlie.

Much has been said about the attacks that does not require repeating. Yet it is worth bearing out that the Paris attacks may indeed be an inflection point in this century’s history.

One week later and the world still grieves. Many of us felt like something was burned, slashed and broken in the hours and days after we heard the news. We can all imagine ourselves at a rock concert, eating at a café, or attending a football match, having a good time. I have visited Paris only once, but my memories of the city flooded back, mixed in with the horrified knowledge that the people who were shot were just like me.