Messages of condolence, outrage and defiance over the Paris terrorist attack on a newspaper office spread quickly around the world Wednesday with thousands of people taking to the streets to protest the killings and using the slogan “Je Suis Charlie” on social media.
Many who poured into Place de la Republique in eastern Paris near the site of the attack waved papers, pencils and pens. Journalists led the march, but most in the crowd weren’t from the media world, expressing solidarity and support of freedom of speech.
Similar gatherings, including some silent vigils, took place at London’s Trafalgar Square, in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, in Madrid, in Brussels, in Nice and elsewhere.
“No matter what a journalist or magazine has to say, even if it is not what the majority of people think, they still have the right to say it without feeling in danger, which is the case today,” said Alice Blanc, a London student who is originally from Paris and was among those in the London crowd, estimated in the hundreds.
Online, the declaration “Je Suis Charlie,” or “I Am Charlie,” replaced profile pictures on Facebook, while Twitter users showed themselves with the slogan on signs with words of support for the 12 victims who were killed at Charlie Hebdo, a weekly newspaper that had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad.
The “Je Suis Charlie” slogan grew into a trending hashtag on Twitter and spread to Instagram.
About 1,000 people gathered near the European Union’s headquarters in Brussels to express sympathy and outrage. In Spain, about 200 people in Madrid gathered outside the French Embassy to voice outrage. Some also held pens in the air and chanted “Freedom of Expression” and “We Are All Charlie.”
A handful of women in the Roman piazza where the French Embassy is located had “Je suis Charlie” banners taped to their jackets. “I still cannot believe what happened,” said protester Linda Chille. “It is cruel and very shocking.”
