Dozens of people were killed in a series of shootouts at the Bataclan Theatre in the heart of Paris on the night of November 13.

Additionally, outside the Stade de France stadium, where the home team France was playing Germany in a friendly match, there were also numerous large explosions that killed 35 people.

Rescue workers are present outside the Bataclan Theatre. (AFP photo)

AFP quoted French police as saying that the shootouts outside the Bataclan theater left at least a dozen people dead and around 60 currently being held hostage.

Meanwhile, explosions at the Stade de France killed three people, and spectators at the friendly match between Germany and France rushed onto the pitch fearing further attacks. Stadium organizers had to evacuate them through three gates.

An AFP reporter outside the Bataclan theater said that about 20 police cars and numerous armed officers were present at the scene. Many people sitting in nearby bars who witnessed the incident were visibly frightened.

Additionally, another attack occurred at the Petit Cambodge restaurant, near the Bataclan theater. Police have sealed off a large area around the restaurant.

Many witnesses at the scene said they saw the attackers, armed with AK rifles, shoot at people dining there, killing several.

Shootings also took place on Charonne Street in the 11th arrondissement and at the Les Halles shopping center in central Paris.

French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve immediately announced the establishment of a hotline to address the issue.

Previously, France had been placed on high alert following the January attacks on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket that killed 17 people.

French police subsequently foiled dozens of terrorist attack plots.

There are currently around 500 French fighters battling with IS in Syria and Iraq, nearly half of whom are believed to have returned to France, and approximately 750 others have expressed a desire to join IS. According to Reuters/AP, on November 13th, French media reported that around 40 people were killed in a series of terrorist attacks in the capital, Paris.

According to VOV