Paris Displays Defiance With Huge Rally World Leaders Gather With Crowds to Show Solidarity After Terror Attacks By STACY MEICHTRY, RUTH BENDER and INTI LANDAURO Wall Street Journal Updated Jan. 11, 2015 5:33 p.m. ET PARIS—France, joined by world leaders locked arm-in-arm, mounted its largest-ever demonstration on Sunday in a defiant, if fragile, display of unity against terrorist attacks that tore through its capital last week. More than three million people of different political and religious stripes marched in rallies across the country. Nearly half of them flooded the streets of Paris, transforming its manicured avenues into human rivers. The rally marked a stunning turnaround for a city that, only days ago, had been a backdrop of gunfire and bloodshed. The families and friends of the 17 people killed in the spree of violence moved solemnly at the head of the march. French President François Hollande and a row of leaders, who at times made for strange bedfellows, followed in their wake. German Chancellor Angela Merkel walked arm-in-arm with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shook hands with President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali, which doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Israel. Photo 1: Today, Paris is the capital of the world,” Mr. Hollande said. The sheer size of the rally forced authorities to adopt exceptional measures to manage the crowd and bolster the security of foreign leaders. Thousands of police were mobilized; large swaths of the city were sealed off from traffic; and subway stations were shut down. France and the rest of Europe have been on high alert since Wednesday, when police say Chérif and Said Kouachi went on a deadly rampage, stalking through the newsroom of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo with AK-47s. The violence continued when a third gunman, Amedy Coulibaly, killed a policewoman on Thursday and four hostages at a kosher grocery store on Friday. The Kouachi brothers and Mr. Coulibaly were killed by police in separate, though simultaneous, raids that brought the crisis to a dramatic climax. The violence traumatized France, puncturing public confidence in the country’s formidable security forces and sowing tensions in a land that is home to one of Europe’s biggest Muslim populations. On the sidelines of Sunday’s rally, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve convened a meeting of senior security officials from both sides of the Atlantic, including U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder , to address terrorist threats. Mr. Cazeneuve said the group of officials agreed to work together to monitor foreign fighters returning from Syria and Iraq and to tighten border controls. Mr. Holder called for a summit on the global fight against Islamic extremism on Feb. 18. “We must deal not only with holding into account the perpetrators of such attacks but also with the underlying causes.” In Germany, police said they detained two suspects for attempted arson after a small fire was started at the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper, which had reprinted front pages from Charlie Hebdo. Police said it wasn’t yet clear whether there was a connection. Crowds began flocking to central Paris in the early hours of Sunday, gathering in Place de la République, under bright sunshine and crisp blue skies. Antique cars and tractors paraded through the city, decked with “Je suis Charlie,” or “I am Charlie,” stickers in solidarity with the stricken magazine. Some people carried banners that read “Not Afraid” and, in a rebuke of the gunmen, “You Missed!” Beneath the peaceful veneer, however, tensions simmered. Valéria Bellenda, a 19-year-old student from the Paris region, said the arrival of foreign dignitaries was “an important gesture,” but questioned the participation of leaders who have taken military action. “What Mr. Netanyahu stands for is contradictory to the values we’ve come to defend today,” she said. At times, frustration swelled in the streets. Organizers kept people squeezed behind barriers in frigid temperatures for hours as Mr. Hollande and foreign dignitaries were ferried straight to the head of the procession in chartered buses. As the leaders arrived, plain-clothed officers fanned out and police marksmen took rooftop positions. Police ordered residents off their balconies, demanding they shut their windows. Photo 2: French President François Hollande is surrounded by leaders, including from left, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. PHILIPPE WOJAZER/REUTERS Photo 3: Demonstrators gather in Place de la République before the start of a march on Sunday in Paris. Hundreds of thousands of people and dozens of world leaders are attending the event in memory of 17 people who were killed in a spree of terror attacks in the French capital. CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/GETTY IMAGES Photo 4: Mr. Hollande embraces German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, as she arrives at the Élysée Palace. Mr. Hollande will lead the march and will be joined by world leaders in a sign of unity. THIBAULT CAMUS/ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo 5: Signs with the words Je Suis Charlie (I am Charlie), adorn the base of the statue of Marianne at the Place de la République before the start of the march. JOEL SAGET/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES Photo 6: Mr. Hollande welcomes Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the Élysée Palace. THIBAULT CAMUS/ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo 7: French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, wearing glasses, welcomes U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder before an International meeting against terrorism on Sunday at the Interior Ministry in Paris. MATTHIEU ALEXANDRE/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES Photo 8: French doctor Patrice Pelloux, right, takes part in the march with members of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine. THOMAS SAMSON/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES Photo 9: A black X is put across the mouth on part of the base of the statue of Marianne at the Place de la République before the start of the march. The poster reads in French: “We are all defiantly Charlie,” referring to Charlie “Get inside! You can watch it on TV,” a police officer commanded a woman trying to catch a glimpse of the leaders Fed-up demonstrators set off on their own, clogging the city’s narrow byways. Aurélien Chauveau, who marched with his parents, warned that the rally risked being “used by politicians for their agenda.” The outpouring of tributes from around the world, generated mixed emotions among some staff at Charlie Hebdo, which specializes in lampooning world affairs. “I won’t be attending because I don’t think it’s my place to be there,” said Laurent Léger, a journalist for the weekly on Sunday morning, adding he had “no disagreement” with the rally. Some politicians boycotted the event. The anti-immigration National Front party organized its own, separate march in Southern France. Marine Le Pen, the French leader of the National Front, the party garnered the most votes in last year’s European Parliament elections, claimed her party had been excluded from the march. Her father, former National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, sparked outrage ahead of Sunday rally when he posted a Tweet message saying: “ I’m certainly not Charlie. I’m Charlie Martel if you see what I mean,” referring to the eighth-century commander, Charles Martel, who contained the northward advance of Islam in what is today central France. A spokesman for Marine Le Pen, who has headed the far-right party since 2011, said she didn’t wish to comment on her father’s declaration. Thirty minutes into the march, world leaders dispersed. Partrick Pelloux, one of the first Charlie Hebdo contributors to arrive at the scene of Wednesday’s shooting, embraced Mr. Hollande. He and other magazine writers, donning white headbands with “Charlie” scrawled across them, walked alongside family members of the four hostages killed in the kosher grocery as well as relatives of the slain police officers. Photo 10: Crowds in Paris pour into Place de Republique on Sunday to attend a rally in defiance of last week’s terror spree. ‘Today, Paris is the capital of the world,’ Mr. Hollande said. ASSOCIATED PRESS As police cars streamed past demonstrators, applause broke out. “I really cried over what happened,” said Asta Issa Algueche, a 49 year-old practicing Muslim who carried a card board sign declaring: “We’re all Policemen, Jews, Charlie, Muslims.” -------------------------- Sam Schechner, David Gauthier-Villars, Noémie Bisserbe, Thomas Varela and William Horobin contributed to this article.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 01:58:27 +0000
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