The tragic victims of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris yesterday will be remembered in a Kensington vigil tomorrow, joining the worldwide outpouring of grief, and defiance against extremism.
Londoner Stephen Hayward has joined the ‘Je suis Charlie’ rallying cry, arranging a vigil and declaring ‘don’t mourn, organise’ after three heavily-armed men killed 12 people.
The French-speaking men forced their way into the French satirical magazine’s offices on Rue Nicolas-Appert yesterday morning before releasing a hail of bullets.
The gunmen, who claimed to be from Al Qaeda, entered the editorial office and shot dead the magazine’s editor, his police guard and three other cartoonists.
They also shot dead four more journalists and two people at random on their way out, as well as a man they approached before the killing spree.
As one suspect has handed himself in, brothers Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi are being hunted by police for their part in the butchery.
‘Je suis Charlie’ has become a cry of defiance as people all over the world condemn the violence, which President Hollande branded ‘an act of extreme barbarity’ as he declared a national day of mourning.
“So today let’s be all French.”
The Kensington vigil for the victims of the massacre will be held tomorrow, Friday January 9 at 6.30pm at the Ciné Lumière, in Queensberry Place, SW7.
The Ciné Lumière, was chosen because it is part of the Institut français, a worldwide network promoting French language and culture.
Organiser Mr Hayward requested that people bring candles to light in a show of solidarity towards the victims and their families.
The Facebook event page states: ‘Remember those murdered in Paris’ and asks people to bring along the words to the Marseillaise, the French national anthem.
Londoners are expressing their condolences and responding to the tragedy.
Clara Fournillier wrote: “Come on!!! And not only French people! It’s not about France, it’s about Fraternity, Freedom of Speech and Thinking.
“Yes, France started those republican values and stood for them, being followed by all the other republics.
“Now is the time to show that those values are the ones of every world citizen’s. So today let’s be all French.”
