A person holds up a “Je Suis Charlie” (I am Charlie) sign during a ceremony at Place de la Republique square to pay tribute to the victims of last year’s shooting at the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, in Paris, France, January 10, 2016. The attacks left the country in shock and under stringent security measures, including a state of emergency.
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President Francois Hollande and mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo layed a wreath by the statue of Marianne, a symbol of the French republic, in the Place de la Republique in central Paris. “But I will be part of a generation who has known terrorism and unfortunately, we will live with it for a long time”, Perry said.
In the attacks, jihadist gunmen killed 12 people at the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine, four hostages at a Jewish supermarket and a policewoman.
Paris was again jolted Thursday when a man wearing a fake explosives vest and wielding a butcher’s knife ran up to a police station and was shot to death by officers standing guard.
He was carrying a handwritten letter claiming to act in the name of the Islamic State (Isis) group.
French rocker and national icon Johnny Hallyday is scheduled to sing with the army choir in a special musical performance later Sunday.
Thousands gathered for a moving memorial service in Paris on Sunday, as a city and a nation paused to remember the scores of lives lost in a spate of terror attacks a year ago.
French mosques are also inviting non-Muslims to visit, during an “open-house” weekend to try to create greater understanding of Islam in France.
The huge square in eastern Paris, the focal point of the January 2015 march attended by dozens of world leaders walking arm in arm, was relatively empty during the ceremony.
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France needs, more than ever, “the engagement of all Muslims in France”, Cazeneuve said, while warning that “the self-proclaimed preachers of hate” in mosques would be dealt with severely.
