Vincent Kessler/ReutersA person holds a candle next to a placard which reads "I am Charlie" to pay tribute during a gathering in Strasbourg on Jan. 7, 2015.Marches and other displays of solidarity have popped up across France and Europe in the wake of the deadly attack on the offices of satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Much of these are being captured on social media under the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie. On the afternoon of Jan. 7, the words appeared on Twitter over 21,000 times in just an hour.
In the French capital, Parisians held up pens in a show of support for freedom of expression.
This is real strength: Parisians silently hold up pens in protest of #CharlieHebdo massacre via @oemoral @GoSruthi pic.twitter.com/Q7dI0ixlf4
- Laura Wells (@wellsla) January 7, 2015
More than 10,000 people assembled in Lyon, according to France 24.
Les Terreaux noirs de monde #Lyon #JeSuisCharlie https://t.co/rgHEtZjMyK
- Rodolphe Koller (@RodolpheKoller) January 7, 2015
Crowds also gathered in the port city of Marseille.
#Marseille #JeSuisCharlie pic.twitter.com/TQCcvKtuMw
- Nicolas. (@Soul_Brotha) January 7, 2015
And in Toulouse, where regional media estimated close to 10,000 attendants.
La foule, silencieuse, place du Capitole a #Toulouse #jesuisCharlie pic.twitter.com/H7jeCmtHts
- Stephane Thepot (@canardumidi) January 7, 2015
People also gathered in London's Trafalagar Square:
Trafalgar Square, people gathering #JeSuisCharlie pic.twitter.com/ykGQ7ihwRX
- Äl Mürräy (@almurray) January 7, 2015
One Twitter user shared that a crowd in Madrid chanted "Todos somos Charlie," or "We are all Charlie."
Shouts of "todos somos Charlie" @ French embassy Madrid #CharlieHebdo #JeSuisCharlie pic.twitter.com/wsDNXrHEEE
- Helen Darbishire (@helen_access) January 7, 2015
The white on black "Je Suis Charlie" also appeared in Berlin, as captured by an AFP photographer. A crowd gathered around the German capital's French embassy.
A woman holds a poster reading #jesuischarlie during a spontaneous vigil in front of the French embassy in Berlin pic.twitter.com/k7cMRwUcTd
- Stephanie Beauge (@sbeaugeAFP) January 7, 2015
B.Z., a newspaper based in Berlin, printed a spread made of a few dozen Charlie Hebdo covers.
BZ est Charlie pic.twitter.com/7fpIskiF9y
- Peter Huth (@PeterHuth) January 7, 2015
The AFP's own newsroom also passed around copies of the motto around their newsroom for a photo of solidarity (the American embassy in Paris also changed its Twitter profile image to present the words).
#JeSuisCharlie tribute to #CharlieHebdo at #AFP news room in Paris pic.twitter.com/J1vTDttDwg
- AFP Photo Department (@AFPphoto) January 7, 2015
And Le Monde used the image of a crowd carrying the words "Not Afraid" as the banner for their main web story covering the attack.
Amazing image on the homepage of Le Monde. That's the image and that's the message. pic.twitter.com/LfdQhaak1F
- Rob Williams (@BobJWilliams) January 7, 2015