Before Paris Attack, the Bataclan Had Long History in Music and Politics

Crowds gathered on Monday to place flowers and candles and pay their respects to the 89 people killed at the Bataclan, as speculation swirled about why the legendary music hall was the target of the most brutal of the terrorist attacks on Friday.

The 150-year-old hall is a part of music history. Édith Piaf and Maurice Chevalier once sang there, crowds swooned for Jeff Buckley, and generations of hip-hop, rock and folk musicians have made and left with lasting memories.

But the hall also has a political history. From the early 2000s until 2009, when the majority owner was a Jewish family, pro-Palestinian activists held several demonstrations outside the hall to protest an annual benefit held there for the Israeli border police.