Francois Hollande Pays Tribute to Victims of Attacks at Hyper Cacher and Charlie Hebdo One Year Ago
On Tuesday French President Francois Hollande and other dignitaries honored the victims of the Hyper Cacher terrorist attacks by unveiling commemorative plaques at the kosher supermarket and at the old offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine. It has been nearly one year since 17 people were killed by Islamic extremists over a three-day rampage, including four people inside the kosher supermarket, 12 Charlie Hebdo staffers at the magazine’s headquarters, and Ahmed Merabet, a 40-year-old Muslim police officer who was shot point-blank while trying to stop two of the Charlie Hebdo gunmen. Reported the AP:
The French president briefly met with some of the survivors of the attack inside the supermarket, including Lassana Bathily, a Mali-born employee of market who hid a group of hostages in the store’s underground stockroom. Bathily then sneaked out to speak to police and help the operation to free the 15 hostages and kill the attacker. Bathily has been hailed as a hero and granted French citizenship.