More than a million people flooded Paris on Sunday morning to participate in a massive rally held in response to the wave of terror that washed over France this week, claiming the lives of 17 victims.
World leaders from countries including Germany, Palestine, Ukraine, Jordan, and Israel joined with French President Francois Hollande as they marched through the streets to protest terrorist attacks on free speech and France’s citizens.
President Obama did not attend the rally, nor did U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who was sent to France to discuss international efforts to combat “extremism.” No U.S. official attended the rally.
Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the demonstration, either, opting instead to send Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The rally ended up being the largest in France’s history, larger even than the demonstrations that took place at the end of World War II, according to French officials.
“Our entire country will rise up toward something better,” Hollande said.
Here are 13 stunning photos from Sunday’s rally:
We are Charlie: TWO MILLION people gather in Paris for unity rally: http://t.co/qGmN1Rff7o #ParisMarch pic.twitter.com/2MfI0HQRMH
— The Sun (@TheSun) January 11, 2015
1.5M people turned out in Paris for #JeSuisCharlie rally. Here are 11 iconic images from it: http://t.co/STH81xPFvf pic.twitter.com/RvfoWN2Ib4
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) January 11, 2015
Paris’s Unity Rally featured an estimated 1.6 million marchers. @NickKozak was on the scene: http://t.co/HgsZ5IkWBg pic.twitter.com/C0jcdL3Uz0
— Maclean’s Magazine (@macleans) January 11, 2015
Man, what a photo. http://t.co/VbJrpwJzSA pic.twitter.com/BQQaAIW3dA
— Benjamin Law (@mrbenjaminlaw) January 11, 2015
Thousands rally in Paris: http://t.co/GiQ0YxUbLi pic.twitter.com/nzQuu2bk5h
— CNN Photos (@CNNPhotos) January 11, 2015
Rally for unity against terrorism is France’s largest ever http://t.co/krHyJpTS2A pic.twitter.com/YvjSpmG67K
— WPXI (@WPXI) January 11, 2015
Photos: Paris unites in rally for attack victims; said largest demonstration in French history http://t.co/3vkwGwqWSk pic.twitter.com/thPKG6wdoD
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) January 11, 2015
Today’s astounding #parismarch in pictures: http://t.co/NPPuzxtOZE #JeSuisCharlie pic.twitter.com/IF7RJ8bE5a
— HuffPost UK (@HuffPostUK) January 11, 2015
Unity rally held in Paris in response to terrorist attacks http://t.co/OT1wRKKf1i pic.twitter.com/PExZVT1F1M
— WLKY (@WLKY) January 11, 2015
Official: #Paris #UnityMarch largest in French history http://t.co/bYDfcQBCiC pic.twitter.com/XVSt2s8Zxj
— Al Jazeera America (@ajam) January 11, 2015
World leaders link arms at start of massive march against terrorism in Paris http://t.co/UiGN3tXDTg pic.twitter.com/k17L6SmxuP
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 11, 2015
BREAKING: Anti-terror unity rally in Paris now the largest demonstration in French history, French official says. pic.twitter.com/XDqb5RBo75
— CP24 (@CP24) January 11, 2015
And here’s some footage from the event:
Impressive Vine from #Paris today #jessuischarlie via @KurdeBerwari https://t.co/cTPJqaTEgj
— Conflict News (@Conflicts) January 11, 2015
