Mass March in Paris in Solidarity with Attacks Victims

Monday, 12 January 2015

Mass March in Paris in Solidarity with Attacks Victims

Local Editor

Huge crowds along with leaders from Europe and across the world gathered on Sunday to march through Paris to pay tribute to the victims of the attacks that shook France earlier this week.

World leaders and thousands of citizens poured into Paris amid unprecedented security to show international solidarity in the wake of the attacks.

France anti-terrorism march

Thousands carrying Tricolore flags and tributes to victims descended on the Place de la Republique for the march.

President Francois Hollande and his predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, are among French politicians who participated in the event.

US Attorney General Eric Holder, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuoglu were among the dozens of world leaders, ministers and government representatives who attended the march.

Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also joined the rally.

Around 50 heads of state and government were gathering before the march at the Elysee Palace with nHollande who said: "Today, Paris is the capital of the world."
France witnessed three days of terrorist attacks that killed 17 people, including policemen and journalists. The major assault took place on Wednesday, when two militants attacked the satirical weekly magazine, Charlie Hebdo, killing twelve people including Journalists and policemen.

With France still on high alert, a huge security operation has been deployed to combat the threat of fresh attacks.

More than 5,000 police and soldiers have been mobilized for the rally, with marksmen positioned on surrounding rooftops and security teams scouring drains.