World leaders join Paris rally for victims
The presidents and politicians invited by French President Francois Hollande leave the Elysee Palace to participate in a march to honour the victims of the terrorist attacks and to show unity, in Paris, France,on Sunday. Three days of terror that ended on January 10 saw 17 people killed. AFP PHOTO
What you need to know:
- Lassina Traore, a 34-year-old French-born Muslim from the Ivory Coast, gently placed 17 candles at the foot of the monument at the Place de la Republique, heaped with tributes to the dead.
- In a foretaste of the demonstration, more than 700,000 people poured onto the streets of cities across France on Saturday, many carrying banners reading “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie), the tribute to Charlie Hebdo that has been the global rallying point in the wake of the slaughter.
- Along with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, the king and queen of Jordan will be present alongside a host of top European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Hundreds of thousands of people joined by world leaders flooded Paris on Sunday in a historic show of defiance and solidarity against terrorism following this week’s Islamist attacks in the French capital.
As France mourned 17 victims of three days of bloodshed that included Jews and a Muslim police officer, the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority were among those attending the mass rally.
Under blue skies, emotions were running high in the shell-shocked City of Light, with many of those gathering from all walks of life already in tears as they came together under the banner of freedom of speech and liberty.
Lassina Traore, a 34-year-old French-born Muslim from the Ivory Coast, gently placed 17 candles at the foot of the monument at the Place de la Republique, heaped with tributes to the dead.
The march is “a real sign of how strong France is. It shows that France is strong when she is united against these people,” said the consultant.
“I want to show that we’re not scared of the extremists. I want to defend freedom of expression,” said 70-year-old Jacqueline Saad-Rouana.
Security was beefed up, with police snipers stationed on rooftops and plain-clothes officers among the crowd in a city still reeling from the Islamist attacks which left 12 staff and policemen dead at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine and claimed four lives at a Jewish supermarket. A policewoman was also killed.
“Today, Paris is the capital of the world,” French President Francois Hollande said. “The entire country will rise up,” he told ministers.
In a foretaste of the demonstration, more than 700,000 people poured onto the streets of cities across France on Saturday, many carrying banners reading “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie), the tribute to Charlie Hebdo that has been the global rallying point in the wake of the slaughter.
Many brandished pens to symbolise freedom of expression after the magazine was targeted by brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi for publishing cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammed.
Along with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, the king and queen of Jordan will be present alongside a host of top European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
