The last time Paris had seen such a crazy huge crowd on its streets was on the night that France won the World Cup in 1998. But on Sunday, millions of people marched across France in a moving tribute to the 17 people killed in terror attacks in Paris. There wasn’t any official numbers, so it’s unknown if this rally is bigger than the 1998. However, an estimated 3.7 million people gathered in shows of solidarity.

The march for “freedom and tolerance” in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo wasn’t an easy one, with hundreds of thousands failed to march, simply because the crowds were too densely packed. While 1.5 million people were estimated to have marched in the center of Paris, at least another 2 million marched in more than 60 similar demonstrations in towns and cities across the country.

Crowds consisted of old and young; white, brown and black; Jewish people in yarmulkes; Muslims in headscarves and any Parisians you could think of were marching “for the Republic”, “against hatred”, “I am Charlie”, “for history”. The climax – 50 world leaders linked arms and walked down the Boulevard Voltaire, pausing for a minute’s silence and then again when the names of the 17 victims were broadcast over a loudspeaker.

Amongst the world leaders who marched: French President Francois Hollande, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, King Abdullah of Jordan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and tons other leaders world leaders from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and even Russia. It was an awesome sight especially when one see leader such as PM David Cameron taking part in a street demonstration, perhaps the first time that he has done so in his entire life.

However, there were two leaders who captured the attention of everyone. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, walk through Paris four places away from Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority. In case you didn’t know the bad bloods between both countries, they have been at war with each other for as long as one can remember. But to have both of them demonstrated in Paris was one of the unthinkable scenes.

Still, surprisingly there was no top-level U.S. official took part in the biggest demonstration in the history of France. Attorney General Eric Holder, who had flown to Paris for anti-terrorism talks in the wake of the attacks, departed before France’s largest ever rally to attend “urgent meetings” in Washington. Where the heck was the POTUS? Well, President Obama spent part of his Sunday afternoon watching a National Football League game on television.

Hence, while Obama and Vice President Joe Biden remained in Washington, despite having no events on their public schedules Sunday, the U.S. was represented at the march only by unknown figure Jane Hartley, the American ambassador to France. So far, lame duck Obama had on Thursday went to the French embassy in Washington, D.C. and signed a condolence book with the rallying cry “Vive la France!”

When even Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov took the trouble to attend the march, it doesn’t take a genius to see why the supposedly U.S.-allies do not need enemies when they have friends such as America. Probably, Obama was too afraid about his own security. But considering controversial heads of state like Netanyahu dared to attend, it speaks volumes about Obama’s cowardice.

Forbes columnist Stuart Anderson had this to say: “By not attending the unity rally in Paris on Sunday, President Obama has missed an opportunity to show leadership, to demonstrate that Americans are as committed to fight against terrorism as anyone in the world.” Once again, Obama has proved himself to be an empty vessel without substance. Pity the Americans to have elected a golfer instead of a leader, for two terms (*yawn*).

 

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Danger Of “See No Terrorist, Hear No Terrorist, Speak No Terrorist” Policy
• Charlie Hebdo To Print 1-Million Copies – And Here’s Proof They Mock All Religions
• Charlie Hebdo Slaughter – The Last Straw That Broke The Camel’s Back?
• World Cartoonists Strike Back – With More Je Suis Charlie Cartoons
• Great Minds Think Alike – Both Obama & Najib Are Great Debt Accumulators
• Obama Fucked Up – Here’re 10 Jaw-Dropping Facts From The Tsunami
• You’re Fired – Clueless Secret Service Director Takes A Bullet For President Obama

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January 12th, 2015 by financetwitter

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