Re: 127 DEAD in Paris shootings and explosions
Why do you assume that because it’s not a criminal offence for you to not carry ID, that other countries are the same?
Everybody in France must carry an official ID. For non EU-foreigners, this means you must carry your passport with you at all times.
If these attackers did not have their passports on their person, then something as routine as a traffic offence on their way to do the attack, or even a mildly suspicious or racist police officer wanting to see ID, would lead to a more detailed check if they were unable to produce ID.
Another factor is that the attackers were trying to get into the football stadium, for which I read that you have to provide your official ID to prove that your name matched that on the ticket (turns out they were unable to buy tickets at the gate and that seemed to upset them). For foreigners… that would be the passport.