French tragedy moves world

PARIS: More than a million people took part in a unity march in Paris on Sunday, after 17 people were killed during three days of deadly attacks in France’s capital.
One French official described it as the largest march in the country’s history.
More than 50 world leaders joined the start of the march, linking arms in an act of solidarity.
“Paris is the capital of the world today,” French leader Francois Hollande said.
Tens of thousands of people also rallied worldwide on Sunday, with marchers across Europe and the Middle East chanting “Je suis Charlie” and holding pens in the air.
From Berlin to London and Jerusalem to Beirut, crowds waved French flags and sang the anthem La Marseillaise following the attacks.
Christians, Muslims and Jews alike took part in the rallies, held as around 2.5 million people took to the streets in unity marches in France.
Dozens of Palestinians also held a rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah, waving Palestinian and French flags and holding up banners reading “Palestine stands with France against terrorism.” Hamas-run Gaza paid tribute to the victims during a candlelit vigil in the enclave.
In Europe one of the biggest rallies was in Berlin where 18,000 people marched wearing t-shirts saying “Checkpoint Charlie Hebdo” — a reference to the Cold War-era Checkpoint Charlie in the once-divided German city.
The march comes days after Germany’s new anti-Islamic Pegida movement drew 35,000 into the streets of Dresden.
In Brussels, Belgian cartoonist Philippe Gelluck was in a crowd of 20,000, saying he was marching “in honor of my fallen friends” at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
London’s famed Trafalgar Square was filled with around 2,000 people raising pencils to the sky. One person held up a giant paper heart with the message “I Am A British Muslim.” Scores of people also rallied in Oxford.
In Madrid’s Plaza de Sol, hundreds descended on the streets with red, white and blue French flags, and sang the French national anthem.
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.”
“We don’t want killings carried out in the name of Islam,” said Driss Bouzdoudou, 30, who has lived in Spain for 14 years.
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.
Hundreds of people marched through central Istanbul brandishing pens and flowers, ending up on the steps of the French consulate, and a similar rally took place in Ankara. In Beirut, hundreds of Lebanese and French expats held up “Je suis Charlie” signs and pens.
Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s embassy in Paris urged Saudis to be cautious and keep away from suspected areas in France. It also advised them not to get involved in any discussions on the attacks. It advised them to inform the embassy or police if they face any harassment.