French police are hunting possible accomplices of eight assailants, who attacked concert-goers, cafe diners and soccer fans in at least six locations.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the violence, which came less than a year after deadly attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket drove home the threat of Islamist terrorism here.
"This time it`s war," pronounced Saturday`s front page of Le Parisien newspaper. "War in the middle of Paris" echoed Le Figaro.
The publications reflected the state of siege felt in Paris and French President Francois Hollande`s vow in the immediate aftermath of the attacks that his nation will go to battle against terrorists.
"The terrorists must be certain that they will face a determined France," he said late Friday.
Hollande convened a special security meeting Saturday morning. He vowed to be "merciless" with the nation`s foes.
"We know where these attacks come from," Hollande added, without naming any individual group. "There are indeed good reasons to be afraid."
While there was no official claim of responsibility, ISIS supporters praised and celebrated the attacks on social media. The militant group has previously threatened attacks in France and other European countries.
All museums, schools and libraries in Paris were ordered closed Saturday as investigators searched for clues as to who was behind the bloodshed. Disneyland Paris was also shut.
Meanwhile, forensics teams worked through the night at the multiple crime scenes.
The Bataclan concert hall in the lively 11th arrondissement was the scene of the night`s worst carnage. At least 100 died there, according to the AP, when gunmen opened fire during a concert by American band Eagles of Death Metal.
The attackers held hundreds of people hostage and reportedly detonated explosives. French police stormed the venue after midnight, rushing wounded to waiting ambulances as sirens wailed.
Sylvain, a 38-year-old concert-goer, collapsed in tears as he recounted the attack to the AP.
"There were shots everywhere, in waves. I lay down on the floor. I saw at least two shooters, but I heard others talk. They cried, `It`s Hollande`s fault.` I heard one of the shooters shout, `Allahu Akbar` [`God is greatest`]," he said, speaking on condition that his full name not be used out of concern for his safety.
Several neighborhood bars were transformed into trauma units to treat and receive survivors. Bodies were still being removed on Saturday morning.
Paris police chief Michel Cadot told the AP that attackers also had sprayed restaurants and cafes around the venue with gunfire.
The siege of the concert hall came around the same time explosions were heard at the national soccer stadium as the France played an exhibition game against Germany.
Karl Olive, the mayor of Poissy, was among thousands of spectators at the Stade de France watching the game. He told NBC News he heard an explosion —"it didn`t sound like a firecracker, it sounded like a bomb" — but the match continued.
Only after halftime, he said, were spectators told to go to the middle of the stadium and that there had been at least one blast. They sang the French national anthem as they filed out of the stadium.
Hollande was also attending the game but was rushed away to deal with the situation.
Local media reported that the explosions may have been caused by a suicide bomber in a restaurant outside the stadium. Forensics teams were seen scouring the area in front of a Quick hamburger joint through the night.
French officials shut down the subway and ordered people to remain indoors as the events unfolded.
Parisians offered shelter to anyone caught up in or stranded in the chaos, setting Twitter alight with the hashtag #porteouverte — or "open door." Americans echoed the charity with #StrandedInUS.
President Barack Obama said the violence was an attack on "all of humanity" while Secretary of Defense Ash Carter called it an "assault on our common human dignity."
While federal and local officials said there was no credible or specific intelligence about threats to the U.S., law enforcement agencies were on alert and deployed extra patrols following the Paris attacks.
The attacks Friday hit a nation still reeling from January`s three-day terror spree that left 20 people dead — including three attackers, who opened fire at the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine and later laid siege on a kosher supermarket.
Bataclan — the nightclub central to Friday`s carnage — is situated not far from Charle Hebdo`s offices.
France has seen several smaller-scale attacks or attempts this year, including an incident on a high-speed train in August in which American travelers thwarted an attempted attack by a heavily armed man.
French authorities are particularly concerned about the threat from hundreds of French Islamist radicals who have traveled to Syria and returned home with skills to stage violence.
The government has also reimposed border controls that were abandoned as part of Europe`s free-travel zone. Border and customs officers will check people, baggage and vehicles entering and leaving France by road, train, sea or plane, customs official Melanie Lacuire said.
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