h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Superfrenchie reporting back from the "Charlie march". There were an estimated 25,000 people in my town marching and chanting. The official gathering time was 2:30, for a departure at 3pm. When I arrived, at around 2:20, the square was already 3/4 full, with people streaming in from all six streets into the square. There were people perched on the pedestal of the statue in the middle of the square, with banners and flags and giant pencils(*). There were groups of policemen and gendarmes, three or four on each access to the square. I walked around a bit, trying to find familiar faces. The two friends I was meeting would be there in a couple minutes, but I might find other friends or colleagues. I didn't, though. Too many people. Then my friends arrived, and managed to find me. A few minutes later, we found another group of friends, so we decided to stick together. (That made around ten of us). We had "Je suis Charlie" signs (printed on A4 sheets), and others that said "I am also the muslims in Le Mans, Villefranche-sur-Sa�ne and elsewhere" (two of the places where mosques were targeted after the Charlie attack). There was some clapping, some "Charlie" chanting, some "No to civil war, yes to liberty" chanting, a bit of Marseillaise singing. Some flag waving and some sign waving, and some chatting and some hand-shaking. I had feared it might turn nasty, with some people equating muslims and terrorists, but I didn't see anything like that. There *were* some slightly scary guys with shaved heads and tattoos, but they simply marched like everyone (as far as I know). Around 3:15 the people at the front started to move out of the square. We, being at the other end, left the square half an hour later. We marched, again singing and chanting and chatting, from the D�partement headquarters (sous-pr�fecture), to the town hall, taking big streets so it would last a bit longer. There were people with "Je suis Charlie" signs, people with Charlie Hebdo cartoons on signs (a lot of different ones, not just the most offensive ones), there were French flags, and several flags from other countries too (especially, there's a pretty big Portuguese community here). There were also a *lot* of people with no banners at all. And there was an impressive number of people with home-made banners that said things from "I am a muslim and I don't approve of terrorism" to "freedom" in several languages, and quite a few "I am *not* Charlie but I weep for the victims all the same". So I think we can establish that people can and do condemn the killings without endorsing the cartoons. We arrived at the town hall around 4:30, and people were starting to disperse already. There were no speeches at all, just spontaneous bursts of chanting and singing. Our little group then decided to go grab a coffee or chocolate because it was pretty cold and we didn't want to just go home like that, so we sat in a caf� for a couple of hours (that is, after we managed to *find* a caf� that wasn't packed with people who'd had the same idea!). It was my second march ever. (I mentioned the first one in a journal last year http://www.h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/brunel/F8387085?thread=8305989 ). I don't like crowds. They make me uneasy, like I could lose control in a matter of seconds. But this one didn't feel like that. It felt friendly and... well, happy isn't the word, but not angry and not weepy. It felt right. (*) You know, the ones your aunt always brings back from her holiday and you immediately chuck to the back of the cupboard because they're so big and ridiculous that you can't use them for anything.

Ah. Brunel link sin't working. Here's a Pliny link, that should work better : http://h2g2.com/user_journal/U9937105/conversation/view/F8387085/T8305989

Deities damn it! Accents! Let's try again, shall we? Superfrenchie reporting back from the "Charlie march". There were an estimated 25,000 people in my town marching and chanting. The official gathering time was 2:30, for a departure at 3pm. When I arrived, at around 2:20, the square was already 3/4 full, with people streaming in from all six streets into the square. There were people perched on the pedestal of the statue in the middle of the square, with banners and flags and giant pencils(*). There were groups of policemen and gendarmes, three or four on each access to the square. I walked around a bit, trying to find familiar faces. The two friends I was meeting would be there in a couple minutes, but I might find other friends or colleagues. I didn't, though. Too many people. Then my friends arrived, and managed to find me. A few minutes later, we found another group of friends, so we decided to stick together. (That made around ten of us). We had "Je suis Charlie" signs (printed on A4 sheets), and others that said "I am also the muslims in Le Mans, Villefranche-sur-Saone and elsewhere" (two of the places where mosques were targeted after the Charlie attack). There was some clapping, some "Charlie" chanting, some "No to civil war, yes to liberty" chanting, a bit of Marseillaise singing. Some flag waving and some sign waving, and some chatting and some hand-shaking. I had feared it might turn nasty, with some people equating muslims and terrorists, but I didn't see anything like that. There *were* some slightly scary guys with shaved heads and tattoos, but they simply marched like everyone (as far as I know). Around 3:15 the people at the front started to move out of the square. We, being at the other end, left the square half an hour later. We marched, again singing and chanting and chatting, from the Departement headquarters (sous-prefecture), to the town hall, taking big streets so it would last a bit longer. There were people with "Je suis Charlie" signs, people with Charlie Hebdo cartoons on signs (a lot of different ones, not just the most offensive ones), there were French flags, and several flags from other countries too (especially, there's a pretty big Portuguese community here). There were also a *lot* of people with no banners at all. And there was an impressive number of people with home-made banners that said things from "I am a muslim and I don't approve of terrorism" to "freedom" in several languages, and quite a few "I am *not* Charlie but I weep for the victims all the same". So I think we can establish that people can and do condemn the killings without endorsing the cartoons. We arrived at the town hall around 4:30, and people were starting to disperse already. There were no speeches at all, just spontaneous bursts of chanting and singing. Our little group then decided to go grab a coffee or chocolate because it was pretty cold and we didn't want to just go home like that, so we sat in a cafe for a couple of hours (that is, after we managed to *find* a cafe that wasn't packed with people who'd had the same idea!). It was my second march ever. (I mentioned the first one in a journal last year http://h2g2.com/user_journal/U9937105/conversation/view/F8387085/T8305989 ). I don't like crowds. They make me uneasy, like I could lose control in a matter of seconds. But this one didn't feel like that. It felt friendly and... well, happy isn't the word, but not angry and not weepy. It felt right. (*) You know, the ones your aunt always brings back from her holiday and you immediately chuck to the back of the cupboard because they're so big and ridiculous that you can't use them for anything.

Hope all those innocents who lost their lives rest in peace and this moving show of unity can bring some sense to the world.

An estimated total of 3.5 to 4 million people for the whole of France.
1.5 million in Paris alone.


I do hope it works, yes.

I was born in freedom, I live in freedom and I'll die in freedom
no one on this planet will dictate to me! what I should do while I breathe it's air

"Je suis Charlie"



with respects to those who aren't here today

Thanks for describing the march.

I knew about the marching in Paris, but not the other marches in other parts of France.

Thanks Superfrenchie for this journal

A wonderful journal! And i enjoyed reading about your first march.

Thank you for marching, and particularly for this great journal.