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Paris mourns Charlie Hebdo attack, but stands resolute

Parisians on Thursday showed solidarity and defiance in the face the worst terrorist attack on French soil in modern history, which targeted the office of a satirical magazine, killing 12 people.

In this fiercely secular and intellectual country, the terrorist attack against a satirical weekly has shaken the very foundation of French society.

But a day after suspected extremists killed 12 people at the offices of Charlie Hebdo, Parisians say the tragedy only reinforces the values they hold dearest: freedom of expression and intellectual integrity.

Indeed, the urgency and shock felt on the streets of Paris in the immediate aftermath of the rampage quickly evolved into a sense of solidarity and defiance in the face the worst terrorist attack on French soil in modern history.

鈥淲e鈥檝e all grown up with their cartoons, so this is a collective death, for all of France, as a symbol of France,鈥� says Leda Pavlovchenko, a Parisian mother who lives close to the Charlie Hebdo offices. 鈥淏ut I think the country is acting courageously. We have no other choice but to be cohesive and act like a tribe.鈥�

The saga is ongoing. Authorities say two brothers are suspected of being the masked gunmen, who burst into the weekly editorial meeting Wednesday and targeted the editors of the publication while uttering 鈥淎llahu Akbar,鈥� or "God is great." The pair have been spotted in the area of Aisne in northern France, but remain at large.聽Their identifies were uncovered after one brother left his identification in a stolen car; a third man who officials said was involved turned himself in last night.聽

A separate shooting in southern Paris that left one police officer dead has increased tensions, though it's unclear whether the incident is related to the Charlie Hebdo attack. And the Muslim community of France, Europe鈥檚 largest, is worried about a fresh wave of Islamophobia.

Normal bustle

But on Thursday morning, the bustle on the streets of Paris seemed almost ordinary. Metros were full. Lines formed outside bakeries for croissants and pains au chocolat. School doorways were packed as students and the parents of younger ones rushed to get to classrooms on time.

Security tightened across the city. Outside the offices of Liberation, the far-left newspaper that a gunman attacked in 2013, four policemen were on guard last night. This morning outside of the city鈥檚 Notre Dame Cathedral, a police officer checked every bag of incoming tourists, foreshadowing long lines ahead.

Two technicians outside the public hospital headquarters of Paris, across the street from the Paris mayor鈥檚 office, bundled the flags normally flown outside the doors of the institution, as French President Fran莽ois Hollande called for a day of mourning.聽聽鈥淚f we don鈥檛 have freedom of expression, we have nothing,鈥� says Francis Busquet, holding the ladder while his colleague tied the flag to the mast. 鈥淚 just hope they catch them.鈥�

A moment of silence was held across the country at noon, local time.

Je Suis Charlie

At Republique square on Wednesday night, not far from the Charlie Hebdo offices, thousands of Parisians filled a plaza that is usually overrun by skaters and strolling families. 鈥淚 am here because France is a free country,鈥� says Frederic Delascoups, a 30-year-old architect, 鈥渁nd I don鈥檛 think this will silence us. I think it will have the inverse effect, look here,鈥� he says, pointing to the statue at the center of the plaza.

On the statue, an image has been projected of one of Charlie Hebdo鈥檚 most iconic cartoons: 鈥淟鈥檃mour est plus forte que la haine,鈥� or 鈥淟ove is stronger than hate.鈥� It was the cover that the weekly ran after it was firebombed in 2011, and portrayed two men kissing, one of them a Muslim.

鈥淭his is the right response,鈥� says Mr. Delascoups. 鈥淲e aren鈥檛 afraid.鈥�

Parisians climbed on the statue, lighting candles and chanting 鈥渓iberty鈥� and 鈥淐harlie.鈥� Many in the square held up #JeSuisCharlie placards, the Twitter hashtag that鈥檚 gone viral. Some attached their signs to the front of their bikes.

Unease in immigrant quarters

Despite the unity projected by President Hollande, Muslims in Paris say they worry that fears of radical Islamism will turn into a wave of Islamophobia.

A bustling bakery in the northeast of Paris, where many immigrants live, was filled with talk of the tragedy, the latest information known, and the impact this will have on the Muslim community of France.聽One customer voiced his concerns: 鈥淧eople shouldn鈥檛 start drawing similarities between Muslims and the men who committed these crimes 鈥� that鈥檚 what they want.鈥�

One of the workers, who was born in Algeria and gave only his first name, Mohammed, says that these crimes have nothing to do with his religion.聽鈥淢uslims are not that. That鈥檚 not how you react, they鈥檙e basically making their own laws,鈥� he says.

He, like others interviewed around the community, say they are bracing for tough days ahead.