World Leaders Converge To Join Unity March In Paris

By L. Carol Ritchie / NPR

Published January 11, 2015 at 1:47 AM PST

This story was published more than 9 years ago.

Demonstrators gather Sunday in Place de la Republique prior to a mass unity rally in Paris following the recent terrorist attack.

People begin gathering at Republique square before the demonstration in Paris in support of the victims of last week's violent attacks and the ideals of free speech.

Leaders from across Europe and around the world are meeting for security talks in Paris today in the aftermath the deadly terror attacks in the French capitol.

Many will then join an expected crowd of hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marching in solidarity with the victims and in support of the ideals of free speech.

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France is at its highest level of security, with thousands extra police and soldiers in the streets for the rally, says NPR's Lauren Frayer.

French President Francois Hollande has called on citizens to join him in the march. Hollande met earlier today with representatives of the nation's Jewish community, promising protection for schools and synagogues, reports the Jerusalem Post.

British Prime Minister David Cameron says the presence of European leaders will support the values behind the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, whose Paris office was stormed last week by two gunman, killing 12. In all, there were 17 victims in last week's violence.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will join Hollande and Cameron in Paris, along with other heads of state, including Italy's Matteo Renzi, Spain's Mariano Rajoy and Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have also told the press they would attend.

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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is also meeting with European Union foreign ministers to discuss measures to prevent future attacks and to stop the radicalization that leads Europeans to join extremists fighting in Syria and Iraq.

"We will bring together all of our allies to discuss ways in which we can counteract this violent extremism that exists around the world," Holder told reporters, according to Reuters.

Elsewhere in Europe, two suspects are being held in connection with an arson attack of the office of a regional German newspaper. Like many European papers, the Hamburger Morgenpost published cartoons from Charlie Hebdo, Teri Schultz reported for our Newscast desk.

The newspaper said no one was inside when an incendiary device was thrown into the building. Authorities are investigating whether the attack had any connection with the Paris violence.