JE SUIS CHARLIE - Reporting from PARIS

Transport was free, the Metro was crowded. Families as though on a Sunday out, with children in buggies, clutched their little black signs, "Je Suis Charlie", and gripped the French Flag ready to wave in joint condemnation of the Islamist attacks the previous Wednesday.
Despite the throng, even the infirm, the elderly, those in wheelchairs or on crutches, were determined to attend. Never before has Paris witnessed such an uprising of emotion. The freedom to think, to write, to illustrate, without proscription was championed this day by the 1.3 to 1.5 million who attended the March from the Place de la Republique to Place de la Nation.
As people from across Europe converged on the square for the Republican March, it was clear the organisers had not expected so many to attend. From 11 a.m. there was a steady stream of demonstators. People of all ages jostled to enter the square as others decided to leave. As the day wore on, more and more Metro stations were closed for safety; Republique, Arts & Metiers, Nation, etc.  The few Gendarmes who stood around the edge of the square were seen moving away in the early afternoon as the press of people arriving post lunch, became shoulder to shoulder. A Gendarme said "no photographs", as I tried to capture him watching the protestors. There were chants of "Je Suis Charlie" and singing of La Marseillaise and "Let there be Love" (which had been heard playing from a nearby department store). People waved their flags. Others stood silently in mourning. A group of Kurds huddled together held banners protesting that there had not been justice for the three female members of a Kurdish organisation assasinated at their Gare Du Nord offices in 2013. There were signs saying that Gabonese journalists were also imprisoned for their work. Women wore felt tip pens on their hats or in their belts. Others had paper signs with diverse messages pinned on the back of their coats.

The gathering and march was a universal act for the freedom of expression.
The Israeli flag was held aloft from the Stature of the Republique without any protest. I thought that this would have been unthinkable in London due to fear of criticism or attack. Parisians were speaking out against anti-semitism and for literary freedom. The myriad vans of the TV networks were broadcasting images of solidarity across the world. Dozens of professional photographers mingled with the crowds. It was a day of unity. A day to say, "I was there" and "Paris est Charlie".
11 January 2015