One million and five hundred thousand people gathered at the main streets in Paris to join the march of solidarity.
The protest walk called “Cry for Freedom”, held in honor of the victims of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, which started on Wednesday, with the massacre in Paris satirical weekly “Charlie Hebdo”. In the attacks, 17 people, journalists, cartoonists, police officers and hostages who were kidnaped by the radical extremist, were killed.
Before the march, French President Francois Hollande said that Paris “is the capital of the world today” and that “the whole country will stand on its feet”.
– This will be an unprecedented event, which will be recorded in the history books – said Prime Minister of France, Manuel Valls.
At the invitation of the French President to participate in the great anti-terrorist protest march, highest representatives of the European Union and the leaders of European countries arrived. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister of Spain, Great Britain, Turkey and Italy, Mariano Rajoy, David Cameron, Ahmet Davutoglu and Matteo Renzi, as well as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who led the delegation Russia, attended the march of solidarity. Also, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed their support to France.
At the beginning of the march, leaders, side by side in silence, followed by applause, led citizens on a protest walk.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, participating in the march, promised that Europe “will triumph against the challenge of terrorism”.
– Today we are all French – said Renzi.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, joining the march of solidarity, said that extremist violence be a threat for a long time.
– We, in Britain, are facing with a very similar threat, threat of fanatical extremism … It is a threat that has been with us for many years and I believe that will be a long time – said Cameron.
He added that Britain must confront this threat “by any means necessary”, and that it was crucial to investigate the bloody events in France in order to learn from them.
At the same time, more than 600,000 people today went out to the streets in other cities in France to support the march of solidarity held in Paris. Similar marches were organized in several European cities, including London and Brussels.
