France commemorates victims of Charlie Hebdo attacks 10 years on

Elizabeth Pineau - Reuters - 07/01
France on Tuesday commemorated the victims of the deadly assault on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine 10 years ago that began a spate of Islamist militant attacks on the country and stoked a debate on press freedoms that still rages today.
  • Twelve killed in 2012 attack on Charlie Hebdo offices
  • Assault started a series of Islamist attacks in France
  • Anniversary revives debate in France on press freedoms
PARIS, Jan 7 (Reuters) - France on Tuesday commemorated the victims of the deadly assault on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine 10 years ago that began a spate of Islamist militant attacks on the country and stoked a debate on press freedoms that still rages today.
Two masked al Qaeda-linked gunmen with assault rifles stormed what were then the offices of Charlie Hebdo and killed 12 people. The attackers sought to avenge the Prophet Mohammad nearly a decade after the atheist and frequently provocative weekly published cartoons mocking the Prophet.
The killings spurred an outpouring of national sympathy expressed in the slogan "Je Suis Charlie" (I am Charlie) and prompted an impassioned debate about freedom of expression and religion in secular France.
"There were scenes I will never forget," former French President Francois Hollande told Reuters. "We had to act and we did so responsibly, aware that we weren't finished and that there would be other tragedies. And there were."
President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will lead the commemorations, whi...
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