Charlie Hebdo attacks: Vast Paris rally for France unity
Follow link above to story with photos.
Huge crowds are taking part in a unity march in Paris after 17 people were killed during three days of attacks.
More than 40 world leaders joined the start of the march, linking arms in an act of solidarity.
"Paris is the capital of the world today," French leader Francois Hollande said. "The whole country will rise up."
The marchers hope to demonstrate unity after the attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, police officers, and a kosher supermarket.
Ahead of the rally, a video emerged appearing to show the supermarket attacker, Amedy Coulibaly, pledging allegiance to the so-called Islamic State.
In the video, he said he was working with the Charlie Hebdo attackers: "We have split our team into two... to increase the impact of our actions."
Leaders link arms
The rally, led by relatives of the victims of last week's attacks, began at the Place de la Republique. It is thought that more than a million people are taking part.
The British, German, Turkish, Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian leaders were among the world leaders joining the beginning of the march.
They observed a minute's silence before the march began.
About 2,000 police officers and 1,350 soldiers - including elite marksmen on rooftops - have been deployed to protect participants.
The march has been split into two routes for security purposes. Both rallies began at the Place de la Republique and finish at the Place de la Nation.
Marchers in Paris chanted "liberte" ("freedom") and "Charlie" in reference to Charlie Hebdo magazine.
Some waved French flags, cheered, and sang the national anthem. A group of demonstrators carried a large model pencil with the words "not afraid" written on the side.
Outside Paris, several other French cities also held rallies with a combined turnout of at least 600,000, AFP news agency reported.
Samia Ghali, mayor of one of Marseille's districts, told the BBC that people were marching for tolerance and co-existence. Marseille is the city with the largest Muslim population in France.
Solidarity marches were also held in world cities including London, Madrid, Cairo, Sydney and Tokyo.
At the scene - Patrick Jackson, BBC News, Paris
A human tide is flowing steadily along streets shut to traffic.
Everywhere is the slogan "Je suis Charlie" ("I am Charlie"): on home-made placards, on armbands, on T-shirts. A family marches four abreast holding up print-outs in plastic sleeves.
And there are flags too: full-sized French tricolores carried by demonstrators, the colours of the Republic on the square of the Republic.
They are being waved from the tiers of the iconic Republic monument, where demonstrators are perched on the giant statues symbolising the old values of liberty, equality and fraternity - so vital for this nation now.
After a meeting with Mr Hollande at the Elysee Palace on Sunday, leaders from France's Jewish community said the president had told them new security measures would be put in place at all Jewish institutions over the next two days.
"We have decided to live our Judaism and we will continue to live normally, as we can't give in to violence", said Roger Cukierman, President of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions.
The four people killed in the kosher supermarket will be buried in Israel on Tuesday.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says France will stay on high alert in the coming weeks.
He hosted a meeting on Sunday morning of fellow interior ministers from across Europe, including the UK's Theresa May, to discuss the threat posed by militants.
The violence began on Wednesday when two brothers raided the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Said and Cherif Kouachi - who were shot dead by police on Friday - killed 11 people at the magazine offices in the French capital on Wednesday, and a policeman in a nearby street.
A third gunman, Coulibaly, killed four hostages seized at the Hyper Cacher supermarket on Friday before being shot dead by police.
He is also believed to have shot dead a policewoman in Montrouge on Thursday, and has now been linked by prosecutors to the shooting and wounding of a 32-year-old jogger in a park in Fontenay-les-Roses, in south-west Paris, on Wednesday.
His partner, Hayat Boumeddiene, is still wanted by police - although she is thought to have fled France last week. Officials believe she may have entered Turkey en route to Syria.
Stories have been emerging of how ordinary people caught up in the attacks defied the gunmen.
At the supermarket, one Muslim employee hid shoppers in a cold storage room, while the manager of the printworks seized by the Kouachi brothers managed to hide another employee for hours.
In the wake of the attacks, police detained people believed to be connected to the killers - including family members.
Cherif Kouachi's brother-in-law, named as Mourad Hamyd, reportedly handed himself in to police but was released without charge and denounced the violence on Sunday.
"This attack is horrific - a horrible crime", he told AFP news agency.
Elsewhere, there has been an arson attack at the offices of a German newspaper that reprinted Charlie Hebdo cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
No-one was hurt in the assault on the Hamburger Morgenpost in the early hours of Sunday. Two men have been arrested.
How the attacks unfolded (all times GMT)- Wednesday 7 January 10:30 - Two masked gunmen enter Charlie Hebdo offices, killing 12 people, including the magazine's editor. Shortly after the attack, the gunmen kill a police officer nearby.
- 11:00 - Police lose track of the men after they abandon their getaway car and hijack another vehicle. They are later identified as brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi.
- Thursday 8 January 08:45 -A lone gunman shoots dead a policewoman and injures a man in the south of Paris. Gunman later identified as Amedy Coulibaly.
- 10:30 - The Kouachi brothers rob a service station near Villers-Cotterets, in the Aisne region, but disappear again.
- Friday 9 January 08:30 - Police exchange gunfire with the Kouachi brothers during a car chase on the National 2 highway northeast of Paris.
- 10:00 - Police surround the brothers at an industrial building in at Dammartin-en-Goele, 35km (22 miles) from Paris.
- 12:15 - Coulibaly reappears and takes several people hostage at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris. Heavily-armed police arrive and surround the store.
- 16:00 - Kouachi brothers come out of the warehouse, firing at police. They are both shot dead.
- 16:15 - Police storm the kosher supermarket in Paris, killing Coulibaly and rescuing 15 hostages. The bodies of four hostages are recovered.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment