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Worldwide marches in solidarity with France

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About a hundred thousand people rallied worldwide in solidarity with France on Sunday, with marchers across Europe and the Middle East chanting "Je suis Charlie" and holding pens in the air.

From Berlin to Washington and Jerusalem to Beirut, crowds waved French flags and sang France's national anthem "La Marseillaise" following the Islamist attacks that killed 17 people, most at the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Christians, Muslims and Jews alike took part in the rallies, held as nearly four million people took to the streets in unity marches across France.

Turkish journalists and French people hold pencils on Istiklal avenue during a rally organised by Tu...
Turkish journalists and French people hold pencils on Istiklal avenue during a rally organised by Turkish journalists for Paris attacks on Istiklal avenue on January 11, 2015, in Istanbul
Bulent Kilic, AFP

In Israel, where four French Jews killed in a Paris supermarket attack will be buried, more than 500 people gathered in Jerusalem in front of a screen reading in French "Jerusalem is Charlie."

Dozens of Palestinians also held a rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah and Hamas-run Gaza paid tribute to the victims during a candlelit vigil in the tiny coastal enclave.

Across the Atlantic, about 25,000 people marched in Canada's French-speaking city of Montreal, organizers said.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde (2-R)  German Ambassador to the US Peter Wittig (2-L) and Fr...
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde (2-R), German Ambassador to the US Peter Wittig (2-L) and French Ambassador to the US Gerard Araud (R) march in Washington on January 11, 2015
Nicholas Kamm, AFP

And in the US capital, several thousand were led in a silent march by French Ambassador Gerard Araud.

"I'm here at the request of Washington's French people, because, like me, they are frustrated to see their country facing such a serious crisis" from so far away," Araud said.

By his side were a number of European ambassadors as well as top US diplomat for European affairs Victoria Nuland and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

In Los Angeles, Hollywood's A-listers hit the Golden Globes red carpet Sunday in plenty of bling and sequins, but several stars also took a more sober approach, showing support for the victims of terror attacks in Paris.

A French-Israeli dual national lights a candle  around the names of  French Jews killed in an attack...
A French-Israeli dual national lights a candle, around the names of French Jews killed in an attack on a supermarket in Paris, during a remembrance ceremony in the coastal city of Netanya on January 11, 2015
Jack Guez, AFP

George and Amal Clooney, Helen Mirren, Kathy Bates and Diane Kruger were among those who brandished signs or wore pins reading "Je Suis Charlie."

"Today was an extraordinary day," Clooney said of the rallies during his acceptance speech for an honorary award.

"They marched in support of the idea that we will not walk in fear."

- Europe mourns 'fallen friends' -

In Europe, one of the biggest rallies was in Berlin, where around 18,000 people marched wearing shirts saying "Checkpoint Charlie Hebdo" -- a reference to the Cold War-era Checkpoint Charlie in the once-divided German city.

A man holds a placard made using pencils reading
A man holds a placard made using pencils reading "I Am Charlie" during a show of solidarity outside the French Institute in Barcelona on January 11, 2015
Josep Lago, AFP

The march comes days after Germany's new anti-Islamic Pegida movement drew 35,000 people into the streets of Dresden.

In Brussels, Belgian cartoonist Philippe Geluck was among a crowd of 20,000, saying he was marching "in honor of my fallen friends" at Charlie Hebdo.

"I know the Muslim community feels wounded and humiliated by these cartoons, but they were not taking aim at Islam but at fundamentalism," he said.

Gunmen killed 12 people in an attack on the magazine, which printed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that infuriated some Muslims. A third gunman killed a policewoman and four people at a Paris kosher supermarket.

A participant holds up a poster reading 'Berlin ist Charlie' during a rally in tribute to ...
A participant holds up a poster reading 'Berlin ist Charlie' during a rally in tribute to the 17 people killed in the terror attacks in France at the Pariser Platz in Berlin on January 11, 2015
John MacDougall, AFP

London's Trafalgar Square was filled with around 2,000 people raising pencils to the sky and the iconic Tower Bridge was illuminated in the red, white and blue of the French flag. Scores of people also rallied in the university city of Oxford.

The British capital experienced its own terror nightmare 10 years ago when suicide bombers blew up three underground trains and a bus, killing 52 people on July 7, 2005.

In Madrid's Puerta de Sol, hundreds descended on the streets with French flags, and sang "La Marseillaise."

Women hold signs reading
Women hold signs reading "I am Charlie" during a demo in tribute to the victims of a three-day killing spree in Paris, outside the French Embassy in Buenos Aires, on January 11, 2015
Alejandro Pagni, AFP

Hundreds of Muslims also gathered at Madrid's Atocha station, scene of Spain's worst terror attack, the March 11, 2004 train bombings that saw Al-Qaeda-inspired bombers kill 191 people.

Veiled women with young children joined groups of young men at the rally, holding up signs that read "I am Muslim and I am not a terrorist."

- Rallies on every continent -

Elsewhere in Europe, 12,000 people rallied in Vienna and about 3,000 people turned out in driving snow in Stockholm, while some 2,000 people marched in Dublin.

Lebanese cartoonist Stavro Jabra holds a cartoon he drew as a tribute to the slain Charlie Hebdo car...
Lebanese cartoonist Stavro Jabra holds a cartoon he drew as a tribute to the slain Charlie Hebdo cartoonists on January 11, 2015 during a rally on Samir Kassir Square in downtown Beirut
Anwar Amro, AFP

Luxembourg's Grand Duchess Maria Teresa took the rare public step of joining some 2,000 people. In Italy, about 1,000 people gathered in Rome and the same number in Milan, while about 200 people rallied in Lisbon.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people marched through central Istanbul brandishing pens and flowers, and a similar rally took place in Ankara.

But earlier in Istanbul, police arrested two passersby who shouted "why are you demonstrating for this magazine which insulted the prophet?"

In Beirut, hundreds of Lebanese and French expats held up "Je suis Charlie" signs and pens.

The protesters gathered at Samir Kassir Square, named after an outspoken French-Lebanese journalist who was murdered in 2005.

Several hundred people sang the Marseillaise and the Argentine national anthem outside France's embassy in Buenos Aires, with signs reading "Everyone United" and "I am Charlie, I am a police officer, I am a Jew."

In Guinea, President Alpha Conde joined a demonstration of several hundred people to sign a condolence book at the French embassy, witnesses said. Five hundred people also rallied in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast.

Hours before the Paris march, hundreds of people also demonstrated in Sydney and Tokyo.

About a hundred thousand people rallied worldwide in solidarity with France on Sunday, with marchers across Europe and the Middle East chanting “Je suis Charlie” and holding pens in the air.

From Berlin to Washington and Jerusalem to Beirut, crowds waved French flags and sang France’s national anthem “La Marseillaise” following the Islamist attacks that killed 17 people, most at the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Christians, Muslims and Jews alike took part in the rallies, held as nearly four million people took to the streets in unity marches across France.

Turkish journalists and French people hold pencils on Istiklal avenue during a rally organised by Tu...

Turkish journalists and French people hold pencils on Istiklal avenue during a rally organised by Turkish journalists for Paris attacks on Istiklal avenue on January 11, 2015, in Istanbul
Bulent Kilic, AFP

In Israel, where four French Jews killed in a Paris supermarket attack will be buried, more than 500 people gathered in Jerusalem in front of a screen reading in French “Jerusalem is Charlie.”

Dozens of Palestinians also held a rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah and Hamas-run Gaza paid tribute to the victims during a candlelit vigil in the tiny coastal enclave.

Across the Atlantic, about 25,000 people marched in Canada’s French-speaking city of Montreal, organizers said.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde (2-R)  German Ambassador to the US Peter Wittig (2-L) and Fr...

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde (2-R), German Ambassador to the US Peter Wittig (2-L) and French Ambassador to the US Gerard Araud (R) march in Washington on January 11, 2015
Nicholas Kamm, AFP

And in the US capital, several thousand were led in a silent march by French Ambassador Gerard Araud.

“I’m here at the request of Washington’s French people, because, like me, they are frustrated to see their country facing such a serious crisis” from so far away,” Araud said.

By his side were a number of European ambassadors as well as top US diplomat for European affairs Victoria Nuland and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

In Los Angeles, Hollywood’s A-listers hit the Golden Globes red carpet Sunday in plenty of bling and sequins, but several stars also took a more sober approach, showing support for the victims of terror attacks in Paris.

A French-Israeli dual national lights a candle  around the names of  French Jews killed in an attack...

A French-Israeli dual national lights a candle, around the names of French Jews killed in an attack on a supermarket in Paris, during a remembrance ceremony in the coastal city of Netanya on January 11, 2015
Jack Guez, AFP

George and Amal Clooney, Helen Mirren, Kathy Bates and Diane Kruger were among those who brandished signs or wore pins reading “Je Suis Charlie.”

“Today was an extraordinary day,” Clooney said of the rallies during his acceptance speech for an honorary award.

“They marched in support of the idea that we will not walk in fear.”

– Europe mourns ‘fallen friends’ –

In Europe, one of the biggest rallies was in Berlin, where around 18,000 people marched wearing shirts saying “Checkpoint Charlie Hebdo” — a reference to the Cold War-era Checkpoint Charlie in the once-divided German city.

A man holds a placard made using pencils reading

A man holds a placard made using pencils reading “I Am Charlie” during a show of solidarity outside the French Institute in Barcelona on January 11, 2015
Josep Lago, AFP

The march comes days after Germany’s new anti-Islamic Pegida movement drew 35,000 people into the streets of Dresden.

In Brussels, Belgian cartoonist Philippe Geluck was among a crowd of 20,000, saying he was marching “in honor of my fallen friends” at Charlie Hebdo.

“I know the Muslim community feels wounded and humiliated by these cartoons, but they were not taking aim at Islam but at fundamentalism,” he said.

Gunmen killed 12 people in an attack on the magazine, which printed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that infuriated some Muslims. A third gunman killed a policewoman and four people at a Paris kosher supermarket.

A participant holds up a poster reading 'Berlin ist Charlie' during a rally in tribute to ...

A participant holds up a poster reading 'Berlin ist Charlie' during a rally in tribute to the 17 people killed in the terror attacks in France at the Pariser Platz in Berlin on January 11, 2015
John MacDougall, AFP

London’s Trafalgar Square was filled with around 2,000 people raising pencils to the sky and the iconic Tower Bridge was illuminated in the red, white and blue of the French flag. Scores of people also rallied in the university city of Oxford.

The British capital experienced its own terror nightmare 10 years ago when suicide bombers blew up three underground trains and a bus, killing 52 people on July 7, 2005.

In Madrid’s Puerta de Sol, hundreds descended on the streets with French flags, and sang “La Marseillaise.”

Women hold signs reading

Women hold signs reading “I am Charlie” during a demo in tribute to the victims of a three-day killing spree in Paris, outside the French Embassy in Buenos Aires, on January 11, 2015
Alejandro Pagni, AFP

Hundreds of Muslims also gathered at Madrid’s Atocha station, scene of Spain’s worst terror attack, the March 11, 2004 train bombings that saw Al-Qaeda-inspired bombers kill 191 people.

Veiled women with young children joined groups of young men at the rally, holding up signs that read “I am Muslim and I am not a terrorist.”

– Rallies on every continent –

Elsewhere in Europe, 12,000 people rallied in Vienna and about 3,000 people turned out in driving snow in Stockholm, while some 2,000 people marched in Dublin.

Lebanese cartoonist Stavro Jabra holds a cartoon he drew as a tribute to the slain Charlie Hebdo car...

Lebanese cartoonist Stavro Jabra holds a cartoon he drew as a tribute to the slain Charlie Hebdo cartoonists on January 11, 2015 during a rally on Samir Kassir Square in downtown Beirut
Anwar Amro, AFP

Luxembourg’s Grand Duchess Maria Teresa took the rare public step of joining some 2,000 people. In Italy, about 1,000 people gathered in Rome and the same number in Milan, while about 200 people rallied in Lisbon.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people marched through central Istanbul brandishing pens and flowers, and a similar rally took place in Ankara.

But earlier in Istanbul, police arrested two passersby who shouted “why are you demonstrating for this magazine which insulted the prophet?”

In Beirut, hundreds of Lebanese and French expats held up “Je suis Charlie” signs and pens.

The protesters gathered at Samir Kassir Square, named after an outspoken French-Lebanese journalist who was murdered in 2005.

Several hundred people sang the Marseillaise and the Argentine national anthem outside France’s embassy in Buenos Aires, with signs reading “Everyone United” and “I am Charlie, I am a police officer, I am a Jew.”

In Guinea, President Alpha Conde joined a demonstration of several hundred people to sign a condolence book at the French embassy, witnesses said. Five hundred people also rallied in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast.

Hours before the Paris march, hundreds of people also demonstrated in Sydney and Tokyo.

AFP
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With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

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