PARIS -- For the second time this year, Parisians and their allies were forced, through terrorism, to prove their fortitude.

And for the second time this year, Parisians separated by oceans gathered to show solidarity in the face of evil.

On Saturday in Paris, they met in the square block surrounding the Bataclan, where attackers killed dozens and took hundreds hostage the night before.

Boulevard Voltaire, where the concert venue sits in the middle of the block, was barricaded, but four vigil sites were created nearby. Piles of flowers, candles, letters and posters grew at each location as Parisians paid their respects to their fallen neighbors, much as they did after January's slaughter at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine's Paris offices, where terrorists killed 11 people. They wanted to find some meaning or clarity amid chaos.

"I have some friends of friends who were shot entering this catastrophic situation," said Julie Furlan, 35, who lives in the Bastille neighborhood. "I come here to pray even if I don't trust in any god."