News / Bristol
Hundreds gather at ‘Je Suis Charlie’ vigil
“It’s about solidarity and showing we are not scared to stand up for the freedom to write what we want,” said journalist Caroline Stuwe.
She was one of the 500 people who gathered in Bristol city centre on Saturday afternoon, to show solidarity with the French people after three days of terror in France.
Word spread on social media calling for the people of Bristol to show support, after 17 people were killed by terrorists in Paris.
In what has become an international symbol, people held up pencils and brandished “Je Suis Charlie” signs.
Many of the people who gathered in Bristol were French.
It’s so shocking,” said Camille, a Frenchman who has been living in the city for the past three years. “My cousin lives close to the supermarket shooting. We were frantic, trying to get information about her. My parents are heartbroken.”
After the quietness of the vigil the crowds broke into a rendition of the French national anthem.
Journalist and television presenter Jane Solomons was in the crowd: ” “It’s very moving to see such solidarity in Bristol. French and British people joining together to express their views freely.”
12-year-old Lili had come with her mother. “It’s important to stand up for what you believe in,” she said, before laying down her pencil next to dozens of others in an act of remembrance.
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