PARIS:  More than a million people and dozens of world leaders are gathered to march through Paris today, Sunday in a historic display of global defiance against extremism after terrorist attacks that left 17 dead.
The families of those who died in the three blood-soaked days that shook France to its core will rub shoulders with royalty and heads of state within an iron ring of security.
“I have no doubt that millions of citizens will come to express their love of liberty, their love of fraternity,” French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told an emotional rally on Saturday near where a gunman killed four hostages at the supermarket.
In a foretaste of the demonstration, more than 700,000 people poured onto the streets of cities across France on Saturday, many carrying banners reading “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie), the tribute to Charlie Hebdo that has been the global rallying point in the wake of the slaughter.
Many brandished pens to symbolize freedom of expression.