Four-million-people parade in response to
terrorist bombing
On Sunday 11th January, the streets of Paris were home to a rally of 1.5 million
people, protesting last week’s terrorist attacks. People of various ethnicities, beliefs
and political affiliations participated, leading to a total of over four million paraders
across the country, chanting “Je suis Charlie” and singing the Marseillaise.
Dozens of world leaders also participated in this parade, in memory of the
bombing of the satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo”.
François Hollande, the French president, was
accompanied by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel,
the Israeli prime-minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the
president of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, among many
others, who marched together in Paris as a
demonstration of global union against terrorism.
The rally was replicated in many other European countries, like Belgium, England
and Germany, but also in Palestine. However, none had quite the same size as the
Paris parade. The French president summed up the situation in a single quote, before
the parade’s start: “Today Paris is the capital of the world”.
Henrique Costa, 12ºB
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