Guillaume Barreau-Decherf

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Rock critic Guillaume Barreau-Decherf, who wrote under the name Guillaume B. Decherf, was killed while covering a concert by the American band Eagles of Death Metal for Les Inrockuptibles at the Bataclan theater in Paris.

The 43-year-old freelance journalist was one of 130 people killed during the November 13, 2015, terror attacks in Paris by shooters said to be linked to the militant group Islamic State. Four gunmen fired indiscriminately into the crowd at the historic music venue, killing at least 90 people, including Decherf, before they detonated explosive vests [or were killed by police, reports said.

Decherf wrote about heavy metal for the Paris-based music and culture magazine Les Inrockuptibles, also known as Les Inrocks, since 2008. A graduate of the Lille journalism school, he had contributed to several publications, including Rolling Stone and Libération, before joining Les Inrocks.

In a tribute to Decherf, published in Les Inrocks on November 17, 2015, colleague Christophe Conte wrote: “He dragged his imposing silhouette in the newsrooms of Libé, JDD, Metro or Rolling Stone and everywhere his gentleness, his seriousness, his humor and his will to share have only left sweet memories, besides remarkable articles.”

On June 29, 2022, a court in Paris handed a life sentence with no early release possible, France’s most severe criminal sentence, to the only surviving attacker, Salah Abdeslam, who was found guilty of terrorism and murder. Another 19 men also were found guilty—including six in absentia and believed to be dead—of a range of crimes, such as aiding the attackers with cars or weapons and planning to participate in the attack.