World leaders join 1.5m on Paris terror march

Dozens of world leaders joined more than one million French citizens marching in Paris today amid high security in an unprecedented tribute to victims of this week’s Islamist militant attacks.

President Francois Hollande (right, with Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel), Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron (left, in right photo) and leaders from Italy, Israel and Turkey among others, moved off from the central Place de la République (top right) ahead of a sea of French and other flags.

Giant letters attached to a statue in the square spelt out the word ‘Pourquoi?’ (‘Why?’) and small groups sang the ‘La Marseillaise’ national anthem.

Some 2,200 police and soldiers patrolled Paris streets to protect marchers from would-be attackers, with police snipers on rooftops and plain-clothes detectives mingling with the crowd.