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                     Kerry Lays Wreath at Paris Attack Site

   by VOA News

   U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has laid wreaths at the sites of the
   two Islamic extremist attacks in Paris that took place last week, as
   the top U.S. diplomat visits France to show U.S. support for the
   tragedy that left 17 people dead.

   Kerry and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius appeared first at the
   kosher supermarket in eastern Paris where four people died in a hostage
   standoff last Friday. A line of wreaths was already propped against
   police barriers blocking off the site.

   Kerry and Fabius later visited the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo
   magazine, where 12 people died in last Wednesday's shooting. As at the
   supermarket, wreaths, flowers and other remembrances were piled high
   against police barricades, forming an impromptu shrine to the victims.

   Earlier, Kerry shared an embrace with French President Francois
   Hollande in front of the Elysee palace, where the secretary and the
   French president held talks.

   Kerry told Hollande that France has "the full and heartfelt condolences
   of all the American people," and that Americans "share the pain and the
   horror of everything" the French people went through.

   Kerry met earlier Friday with his French counterpart, Foreign Minister
   Laurent Fabius, as he began a series of meetings with French officials.

   Kerry told Fabius that he could not come to Sunday's march in Paris
   because of travel obligations in India and Bulgaria. He also said,
   "It's good to be with you. We have a lot to talk about."

   The Obama administration has admitted it made a mistake by not sending
   a high-level representative to a massive anti-terrorism march in Paris
   Sunday that attracted other world leaders. French officials say it was
   the largest street demonstration in the country's history.

   In another development Friday, police in Paris say they have detained
   at least 10 people suspected of having ties to the shooters.

   Authorities are on high alert for further attacks. The Associated Press
   reports the Gare de l'Est train station in Paris has been closed and
   evacuated because of a bomb threat, although officials say the move was
   a "precaution." No other details were released.

   Two more funerals for victims of the Charlie Hebdo shooting were held
   Thursday - cartoonists Georges Wolinski and Bernard Verlhac, who used
   the pen name "Tignous."

   The Yemeni-based terror group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has
   claimed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo shootings.

   Charlie Hebdo is known for cartoons that poke fun at Islam and all
   religions.

   Another Islamic militant killed four people in a Jewish supermarket in
   Paris last week, a day after killing a policewoman. He was also killed
   in a police raid.

   French President Francois Hollande said at the Arab World Institute in
   Paris Thursday that moderate Muslims are the primary victims of radical
   Islam.

   He said Islam can be compatible with democracy, but called
   fundamentalist Islam fanatical and intolerant.

   All 3 million copies of this week's issue of Charlie Hebdo featuring a
   weeping picture of the Prophet Muhammad on the cover holding a sign
   saying "I Am Charlie" sold out immediately.
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   rench-officials/2600747.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/kerry-discusses-terror-attacks-with-french-officials/2600747.html