Liberté, égalité, fraternité: World leaders join arms with throngs of Parisians

Dozens of world leaders including Muslim and Jewish statesmen joined hundreds of thousands of French citizens marching in Paris amid high security in an unprecedented tribute to victims of this week’s Islamist militant attacks. President Francois Hollande and leaders from Britain, Germany, Italy, Israel, Turkey, and the Palestinian territories among others, moved off from the central Place de la Republique ahead of a sea of French and other flags. Giant letters attached to a statue in the square spelt out the word Pourquoi?” (Why?) and small groups sang the “La Marseillaise” national anthem. Some 2,200 police and soldiers patrolled Paris streets to protect marchers from would-be attackers, with police snipers on rooftops and plain-clothes detectives mingling with the crowd.

Paris is today the capital of the world. Our entire country will rise up and show its best side.

President Francois Hollande

British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Italy Prime Minister Matteo Renzi were among 44 foreign leaders marching with Hollande. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu - who earlier encouraged French Jews to emigrate to Israel - and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were also present. The official estimate on attendance is due to be announced later, but early predictions put the number of attendees at over a million.

World JeSuisCharlie