[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 5 (Monday, January 12, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TERRORIST ATTACKS IN PARIS

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, later today Members of the Senate family 
will have two opportunities to express our solidarity with the people 
of France in their hour of grief and to reaffirm our commitment to the 
principles of freedom and tolerance--values that have bound our nations 
together since the creation of the United States and the French 
Republic.
  In a short while the Senate will consider a resolution condemning the 
series of terrorist attacks that have shaken France, starting with the 
attack on the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and 
ending with a siege Friday at a kosher supermarket in Paris. Our 
resolution expresses our condolences to the families of the victims and 
our solidarity with the people of France. It also expresses our deep 
commitment to the universal right of freedom of expression--a freedom 
for which the writers and artists of Charlie Hebdo gave their lives. I 
am honored to lead this resolution, along with Senators Murphy of 
Connecticut and Johnson of Wisconsin.
  Later this afternoon Senators and their staffs will have an 
opportunity to sign a condolence book expressing their sympathy and 
solidarity to the people of France. The book will be outside the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee room on the first floor of the Capitol. In 
memory of the victims, we will welcome the French Ambassador to the 
United States, Ambassador Gerard Araud, in the committee room at 4:15 
p.m.
  If the terrorists who attacked Charlie Hebdo and the kosher 
supermarket in Paris meant to frighten and divide freedom-loving people 
in France and around the world, they have failed utterly. Yesterday 4 
million people marched in demonstrations in cities across the nation of 
France. A million and a half people marched in Paris alone. Authorities 
said it was the largest gathering in Paris since the end of World War 
II and the largest demonstration in the history of the nation of 
France. They marched to declare their solidarity with the victims of 
the Charlie Hebdo massacre and the supermarket murders and to 
demonstrate their unity. The marchers included Christians, Muslims, 
Jews, and many other religious faiths and nonbelievers. President 
Francois Hollande led the March. He was joined by European and African 
leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian 
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, America's Ambassador to France, and 
our Assistant Secretary of State.
  Marches were also held in other cities around the globe yesterday, 
from Washington to the West Bank. Tens of thousands of people showed 
their solidarity with the victims of these terrorist attacks in France.
  In Chicago hundreds of people turned out in the cold yesterday to 
rally at Daley Plaza under American and French flags. One of the 
organizers of the Chicago rally was a young woman named Eve Zuckerman 
who holds joint U.S. and French citizenship and has lived in Chicago 
for about 4 years. She said the spasm of violence that has shaken 
France is not simply an attack on France. In her words, ``What it 
really means is that anyone who is for freedom and for tolerance is 
also under attack.''
  In our own country in the days after 9/11, our grief was made 
bearable by the countless acts of courage, kindness, and solidarity we 
witnessed amidst the carnage, and so it is within France today.
  One story that has touched many in France and around the world 
concerns a young man who worked at the kosher supermarket in Paris that 
was attacked on Friday. The young man risked his life to hide seven 
Jewish customers in the freezer in the supermarket's basement. He then 
risked his life again to slip out of the basement and tell the police 
there were people hidden downstairs. This young man described the 
layout of the supermarket and the location of the hostages--crucial 
details that enabled the police to save so many lives and end the 
standoff. This young man has been hailed as a hero by the citizens of 
France and by Israeli President Netanyahu. One more thing about this 
young French hero--he is a Muslim immigrant, born in Mali.
  Martin Luther King told us: We are bound together in a single garment 
of destiny. The millions of people in France and around the world who 
marched yesterday and freedom-loving people throughout the world 
understand this. Together in our unity and resolve, we will overcome 
this latest assault on our shared values.

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