The media coverage of the 13 November 2015 attacks in Paris was an unprecedented exercise for BFM TV, and exemplified the sequence of freedoms and constraints weighing on continuous news coverage. This article is the fruit of empirical research on the night and morning following the attacks in the special broadcast on this channel. It investigates the media coverage of an extraordinary event occurring in a context where the live and continuous news coverage offer in France has increased considerably. Faced with informational chaos in the field and a lack of images, journalists improvised a live narrative that closely blended factual elements with emotional tension. To make up for the lack of information and certified explanations, they made local witnesses and victims, at least partially, take on the role of reporters. The large number of experts invited to the channel’s sets provided insights and interpretations, without immediately introducing the controversies that were to arise later on in the public space.