I returned to Paris on the 6th and on the 7th, terrorists attacked Paris. A couple of dummies, who I will not name, killed 12 people at the office of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper (similar to MAD Magazine in America). They murdered these people because some of them drew some pictures. Incredible that something like this is possible in this day and age. A headline like that would be on the cutting room floor of The Onion for being too unrealistic. A couple days later, another dummy murdered a cop and four people at a Jewish supermarket.
The initial shootings at Charlie Hebdo happened five minutes (walk) from my apartment. I was out on the balcony when I heard a very loud siren. I wasn't sure what was going on, but shrugged it off as a test or a fire or something like that. It wasn't until I was checking hockey scores a couple hours later on CBC.ca that I learned of the horrible thing that happened mere blocks away.
For that whole day, I was glued to the news. The first two murderers were on the run and a country-wide manhunt was on. The fear-mongering on the news was very draining. CNN in particular, was terrible with their round the clock coverage. BBC was better, but it was much, much more frightening cooped up in the little apartment watching the hysteria than it was out on the streets. People were getting on with their lives, children were playing on the streets, dogs being walked, etc. The vibe was definitely subdued, but it wasn't the apocalypse that it was being made out to be on TV.
The day after the shooting, I joined thousands of people who gathered at Place de la République as show of solidarity. The mood was one of defiance and safety in numbers. The suspects were still on the run at this point and we didn't know where they were. Here are some photos that I took (click to embiggen):
On the 9th, the two Hebdo murderers were found and killed by police. The murderer at the supermarket met the same fate simultaneously. On the 11th of January, I joined the 2 million people who marched in a rally of national unity from Place de la République to Place de la Nation. The sheer number of people was staggering. We lined the boulevards shoulder to shoulder and marched and chanted and sang and also were silent for brief moments of remembrance. The crowds belted out La Marseillaise (the national anthem) and I joined in with poor French where I knew the words. It went on for hours. It was very emotional. I took many photos:
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All images © Levi Groeneveld