A stunned and outraged France was in mourning yesterday as security forces desperately hunted two brothers suspected of gunning down 12 people on Wednesday in an Islamist attack on a satirical weekly.
The massacre, the country’s bloodiest attack in half a century, triggered poignant and spontaneous demonstrations of solidarity around the world.
Shocked people from Moscow to Washington rallied in their tens of thousands under the banner “I am Charlie”, in support of press freedom and the controversial Charlie Hebdo magazine that has repeatedly lampooned the Prophet Mohammed.
Declaring yesterday a national day of mourning – only the fifth in the last 50 years – President Francois Hollande called the bloodbath “an act of exceptional barbarity” and “undoubtedly a terrorist attack”.
Nearly 24 hours after the brazen daylight assault, the masked, black-clad gunmen – who shouted “Allahu akbar” (“God is greatest”) while killing some of France’s most outspoken journalists as well as two policemen – were still on the loose.
Police issued arrest warrants for Cherif Kouachi, 32, a known jihadist convicted in 2008 for involvement in a network sending fighters to Iraq, and his 34-year-old brother, Said. Both were born in Paris.
The two men were likely to be “armed and dangerous,” authorities warned.
Meanwhile, the youngest of three French nationals turned himself in at a police station in Charleville-Mézières, some 230km northeast of Paris near the Belgium border.
BFM TV, citing unidentified sources, said the man had decided to go to the police after seeing his name in social media.
The police source said Cherif Kouachi had previously been tried on terrorism charges and served 18 months in prison.
He was charged with criminal association related to a terrorist enterprise in 2005.
He had been part of an Islamist cell that enlisted French nationals from a mosque in eastern Paris to go to Iraq to fight Americans in Iraq. He was arrested before leaving for Iraq to join militants.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said seven people had been detained in the hunt for the brothers, and a judicial source who refused to be named added these were men and women close to the suspects.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls, meanwhile, told French radio the two suspects were known to intelligence services and were “no doubt” being followed before the attack.
The frantic manhunt stretched into the night with search-and-seizure operations in Strasbourg and towns near Paris, while in northeastern Reims police commandos raided a building later scoured by white-clad forensic police.
Hamyd Mourad, an 18-year-old suspected of being an accomplice in the attack, handed himself in, with police sources saying he had seen his name “circulating on social media”.
Hollande ordered flags to fly at half-mast for three days in France and was due to convene an emergency cabinet meeting at 8.30am.
A minute’s silence was observed across the country at midday, after which the bells of Paris’s famous Notre Dame cathedral sounded out across the capital.
“Nothing can divide us, nothing should separate us. Freedom will always be stronger than barbarity,” said the president, calling for “national unity”.
Even before the attack, France, home to Europe’s biggest Muslim population, was on high alert like many countries that have seen citizens leave to fight alongside the radical Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
“Several terrorist attacks had been foiled in recent weeks,” Hollande said.
At around 11.30am on Wednesday, the killers stormed the central Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo during an editorial meeting and picked off some of France’s best-known cartoonists in cold, military-style executions.
Outside the building, chilling amateur video footage showed the attackers calmly approaching a wounded policeman as he lay on the pavement and shooting him at close range.
Many witnesses said the scene was “like a movie” and some described “rivers of blood” flowing in the streets of the City of Light.
One witness said: “I saw them leaving and shooting. They were wearing masks. These guys were serious. At first I thought it was special forces chasing drug traffickers or something,” said the man.
“It’s awful, it’s awful,” said Anne Pajon, a Scot who has lived in Paris for 20 years, as she waited at the Saint Lazare train station.
“It’s scary. What’s worrying is that we can’t do anything. That’s terrorism – it hits whatever we do. We cannot prevent it.”
More than 100000 people across France poured into the streets, many brandishing “jesuischarlie” (“I am Charlie”) banners and holding up pens to voice support for freedom of expression.
Charlie Hebdo has long provoked controversy, mocking many religions with provocative drawings, a practice that has outraged some Muslims, whose religion forbids depictions of the Prophet Mohammed.
US President Barack Obama led the global condemnation of what he called a “cowardly, evil” assault. Pope Francis described it as a “horrible attack” saying such violence “whatever the motivation, is abominable, it is never justified”.
Visiting the scene, the imam of the Drancy mosque in the northern suburbs of Paris, Hassen Chalghoumi, called the shooters “barbarians”.
“They want terror, they want fear. We must not give in. I hope the French will come out in solidarity and not against the Muslim minority in Europe,” he said.
Meanwhile, cartoonists reacted as they know best, composing biting and mocking satirical drawings against what editorialists said was an attack on the foundations of democracy.
Among the cartoons that went viral online was one by Australia’s David Pope: a picture of a gunman with a smoking rifle standing over a body, bearing the caption “He drew first”.
France’s media erupted in fury at the massacre of their colleagues, with the daily Liberation running the headline “We are all Charlie” – a line repeated in many other papers and echoed online with the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie.
Business daily Les Echos urged people to face up to “barbarism”, publishing the last cartoon of one of those killed in the attack.
“The hooded bastards declared war on France, on our democracy, on our values,” the paper said in an editorial.
Charlie Hebdo gained notoriety in February 2006 when it reprinted cartoons of the Prophet that had originally appeared in Danish daily Jyllands-Posten.
Its offices were fire-bombed in November 2011 when it published a cartoon of Mohammed under the title “Sharia Hebdo”.
Even being dragged to court under anti-racism laws did not stop the publication, which in September 2012 again drew the Prophet, this time naked.
The attackers on Wednesday shouted “we have avenged the prophet, we have killed Charlie Hebdo,” according to prosecutors.
The assault took place on the day the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo was published. It featured a cartoon of an armed militant noting: “Still no attacks in France. Wait! We have until the end of January to send greetings”. That was a reference to France’s tradition of wishing someone a Happy New Year before January 31.
Editor-in-chief Stephane Charbonnier, known as Charb and who had lived under police guard after receiving death threats, was among those killed, along with the police officer assigned to protect him.
Other victims included Jean Cabut, known across France as Cabu, Georges Wolinski and Bernard Verlhac, better known as Tignous.
Meanwhile, Hollywood voiced solidarity with Charlie Hebdo, as some linked Wednesday’s deadly attack on it to the recent freedom-of-speech controversy over a comedy film about North Korea.
Celebrities expressed outrage and support online, while the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) made a direct link between the Paris massacre that killed 12 and the hacking and threats to Hollywood studio Sony Pictures over the movie The Interview.
“We are shocked and saddened by the horrific terrorist attack at Charlie Hebdo that occurred,” said MPAA head Chris Dodd. “Our industry has experienced firsthand cowardly attempts freedom of speech, and we offer our expression of support to the victims and their families, as well as the French people.”
Sony Pictures initially resisted demands by hackers to cancel the film’s December 25 release date. But it gave in the week before Christmas, before changing its mind again.
The Screen Actors Guild called the Paris attack a “despicable act of terrorism”. It said: “Journalists know that their jobs carry risks, but these brazen killings were particularly shocking in that these journalists were not in an overseas combat zone, but at work in their own offices in a democratic nation.”
Hollywood stars took to Twitter and other social media to voice solidarity with the French publication and France.
Julianne Moore wrote: “I am heartbroken by the loss of life and attack on freedom of expression.”
Mark Ruffalo wrote: “What a tremendous loss. A free press is our greatest weapon against tyranny.”
French massacre sparks global fury
The massacre, the country’s bloodiest attack in half a century, triggered poignant and spontaneous demonstrations of solidarity around the world.
Shocked people from Moscow to Washington rallied in their tens of thousands under the banner “I am Charlie”, in support of press freedom and the controversial Charlie Hebdo magazine that has repeatedly lampooned the Prophet Mohammed.
Declaring yesterday a national day of mourning – only the fifth in the last 50 years – President Francois Hollande called the bloodbath “an act of exceptional barbarity” and “undoubtedly a terrorist attack”.
Nearly 24 hours after the brazen daylight assault, the masked, black-clad gunmen – who shouted “Allahu akbar” (“God is greatest”) while killing some of France’s most outspoken journalists as well as two policemen – were still on the loose.
Police issued arrest warrants for Cherif Kouachi, 32, a known jihadist convicted in 2008 for involvement in a network sending fighters to Iraq, and his 34-year-old brother, Said. Both were born in Paris.
The two men were likely to be “armed and dangerous,” authorities warned.
Meanwhile, the youngest of three French nationals turned himself in at a police station in Charleville-Mézières, some 230km northeast of Paris near the Belgium border.
BFM TV, citing unidentified sources, said the man had decided to go to the police after seeing his name in social media.
The police source said Cherif Kouachi had previously been tried on terrorism charges and served 18 months in prison.
He was charged with criminal association related to a terrorist enterprise in 2005.
He had been part of an Islamist cell that enlisted French nationals from a mosque in eastern Paris to go to Iraq to fight Americans in Iraq. He was arrested before leaving for Iraq to join militants.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said seven people had been detained in the hunt for the brothers, and a judicial source who refused to be named added these were men and women close to the suspects.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls, meanwhile, told French radio the two suspects were known to intelligence services and were “no doubt” being followed before the attack.
The frantic manhunt stretched into the night with search-and-seizure operations in Strasbourg and towns near Paris, while in northeastern Reims police commandos raided a building later scoured by white-clad forensic police.
Hamyd Mourad, an 18-year-old suspected of being an accomplice in the attack, handed himself in, with police sources saying he had seen his name “circulating on social media”.
Hollande ordered flags to fly at half-mast for three days in France and was due to convene an emergency cabinet meeting at 8.30am.
A minute’s silence was observed across the country at midday, after which the bells of Paris’s famous Notre Dame cathedral sounded out across the capital.
“Nothing can divide us, nothing should separate us. Freedom will always be stronger than barbarity,” said the president, calling for “national unity”.
Even before the attack, France, home to Europe’s biggest Muslim population, was on high alert like many countries that have seen citizens leave to fight alongside the radical Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
“Several terrorist attacks had been foiled in recent weeks,” Hollande said.
At around 11.30am on Wednesday, the killers stormed the central Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo during an editorial meeting and picked off some of France’s best-known cartoonists in cold, military-style executions.
Outside the building, chilling amateur video footage showed the attackers calmly approaching a wounded policeman as he lay on the pavement and shooting him at close range.
Many witnesses said the scene was “like a movie” and some described “rivers of blood” flowing in the streets of the City of Light.
One witness said: “I saw them leaving and shooting. They were wearing masks. These guys were serious. At first I thought it was special forces chasing drug traffickers or something,” said the man.
“It’s awful, it’s awful,” said Anne Pajon, a Scot who has lived in Paris for 20 years, as she waited at the Saint Lazare train station.
“It’s scary. What’s worrying is that we can’t do anything. That’s terrorism – it hits whatever we do. We cannot prevent it.”
More than 100000 people across France poured into the streets, many brandishing “jesuischarlie” (“I am Charlie”) banners and holding up pens to voice support for freedom of expression.
Charlie Hebdo has long provoked controversy, mocking many religions with provocative drawings, a practice that has outraged some Muslims, whose religion forbids depictions of the Prophet Mohammed.
US President Barack Obama led the global condemnation of what he called a “cowardly, evil” assault. Pope Francis described it as a “horrible attack” saying such violence “whatever the motivation, is abominable, it is never justified”.
Visiting the scene, the imam of the Drancy mosque in the northern suburbs of Paris, Hassen Chalghoumi, called the shooters “barbarians”.
“They want terror, they want fear. We must not give in. I hope the French will come out in solidarity and not against the Muslim minority in Europe,” he said.
Meanwhile, cartoonists reacted as they know best, composing biting and mocking satirical drawings against what editorialists said was an attack on the foundations of democracy.
Among the cartoons that went viral online was one by Australia’s David Pope: a picture of a gunman with a smoking rifle standing over a body, bearing the caption “He drew first”.
France’s media erupted in fury at the massacre of their colleagues, with the daily Liberation running the headline “We are all Charlie” – a line repeated in many other papers and echoed online with the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie.
Business daily Les Echos urged people to face up to “barbarism”, publishing the last cartoon of one of those killed in the attack.
“The hooded bastards declared war on France, on our democracy, on our values,” the paper said in an editorial.
Charlie Hebdo gained notoriety in February 2006 when it reprinted cartoons of the Prophet that had originally appeared in Danish daily Jyllands-Posten.
Its offices were fire-bombed in November 2011 when it published a cartoon of Mohammed under the title “Sharia Hebdo”.
Even being dragged to court under anti-racism laws did not stop the publication, which in September 2012 again drew the Prophet, this time naked.
The attackers on Wednesday shouted “we have avenged the prophet, we have killed Charlie Hebdo,” according to prosecutors.
The assault took place on the day the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo was published. It featured a cartoon of an armed militant noting: “Still no attacks in France. Wait! We have until the end of January to send greetings”. That was a reference to France’s tradition of wishing someone a Happy New Year before January 31.
Editor-in-chief Stephane Charbonnier, known as Charb and who had lived under police guard after receiving death threats, was among those killed, along with the police officer assigned to protect him.
Other victims included Jean Cabut, known across France as Cabu, Georges Wolinski and Bernard Verlhac, better known as Tignous.
Meanwhile, Hollywood voiced solidarity with Charlie Hebdo, as some linked Wednesday’s deadly attack on it to the recent freedom-of-speech controversy over a comedy film about North Korea.
Celebrities expressed outrage and support online, while the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) made a direct link between the Paris massacre that killed 12 and the hacking and threats to Hollywood studio Sony Pictures over the movie The Interview.
“We are shocked and saddened by the horrific terrorist attack at Charlie Hebdo that occurred,” said MPAA head Chris Dodd. “Our industry has experienced firsthand cowardly attempts freedom of speech, and we offer our expression of support to the victims and their families, as well as the French people.”
Sony Pictures initially resisted demands by hackers to cancel the film’s December 25 release date. But it gave in the week before Christmas, before changing its mind again.
The Screen Actors Guild called the Paris attack a “despicable act of terrorism”. It said: “Journalists know that their jobs carry risks, but these brazen killings were particularly shocking in that these journalists were not in an overseas combat zone, but at work in their own offices in a democratic nation.”
Hollywood stars took to Twitter and other social media to voice solidarity with the French publication and France.
Julianne Moore wrote: “I am heartbroken by the loss of life and attack on freedom of expression.”
Mark Ruffalo wrote: “What a tremendous loss. A free press is our greatest weapon against tyranny.”
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