THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR has thanked Irish people for their “overwhelming” messages of support in the wake of this week’s terror attacks that left 17 people dead.

Gatherings are being held in cities across Ireland today to coincide with a massive ‘unity’ rally in Paris. Taoiseach Enda Kenny will attend the event in the French capital, along with the likes of British Prime Minister David Cameron, Germany’s Angela Merkel and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.

“The terrorists tried to kill us through those journalists — to kill our hope,” Ambassador Jean-Pierre Thébault said, at an event to commemorate the victims of the attacks at Dublin Castle yesterday.

He said the Embassy had received thousands of responses from Irish people since Wednesday’s initial attack on the offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

“They try to put us into the shadow — now we stand in the light and the light is created by all those thousands of responses from the public,” Thébault said.

He thanked people who had sent messages or signed books of condolence opened at public buildings around the country.

Each pen and pencil that each Irish person will use to mark even a single word of support will be saying to the terrorists you are defeated.

Today’s march in Dublin will be a symbol of the unity of values between Ireland and France, he said.

He said the feeling of “brotherhood” French people in Ireland had felt in recent days was “overwhelming”.

We feel at home here in Ireland.

A silent procession takes place in Nice yesterday. AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

The Dublin event — organised by the French community here — will begin at the Spire on O’Connell Street at 12pm, marching to the Alliance Français centre on Kildare Street.

An organiser wrote on Facebook: 

You are welcome to express yourself with the posters you’ll print, but out of respect for some of us who are mourning, as soon as we leave the spire (in front of the GPO), it would be great if you could walk in silence.

In Cork, a silent vigil will take place at Daunt Square at noon. Galway’s event also takes place at midday, at the Spanish Arch.

The French Embassy is posting details of other events on its homepage. Details of locations for books of condolence are also available on the embassy site.

Note: Organising a ‘unity’ event today? Send us the details: news@thejournal.ie

Read: Across the world, vigils for the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack

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