the french are asking the question, why so many in france. it's not only france. the uk and france are neck and neck with the number of radicals who have been traveling back and forth. germany and denmark are all up there. it is not just a french problem. >> not just a french problem and we also know that there was a terror attack in belgium against a jewish museum. there is a growing attention between the jewish community feeling targeted by the radical muslim community and the muslim community at large, the larger community feeling very much under siege from the french majority community. >> there was no coincidence this was an attack on a kosher super market. in fact the two brothers and we know quite a bit about the kouachi brothers. the older brother was the ringleader and more often getting into trouble. he served time in french prison. he said that his initial intent was to attack jewish targets in france, but that in 2005 he met a radical cleric who was a janitor with no real religious training, but he made himself a cleric. this individual convinced cheri

france has high youth unemployment. and a lot of this unemployment is something that muslim youths are suffering from and mostly muslim youths that live in suburbs where they feel left on the sides of french society. there's also very strong discrimination in the workforce against children of immigration in france. these are issues that france is now going to be beyond just a day of mourning. today of course is a day of national mourning. but these issues that we've mentioned are going to come to the fore in the coming days and weeks. there's going to be a lot of gazing at france's society. >> natalie, thanks so much for talking with us. as we were speaking we just got the information that france's interior minister who you saw speaking earlier, what he was saying when he was talking to the press there, was that the man who shot the policeman is still on the run. we'd heard from the mayor that one individual had been arrested. so we still don't really know what we're dealing with here. but we're looking at these live pi

prime minister of france said france without the jews would no longer be france. france without jews is not france. this is what he said and this again is a real good point. not considering political belongings and politician quarrels. >> rose: and what about the far right. what happened lawpen and what about the spirit of nationalism and what about those who argue in an anti-immigrant message? >> again, againr9often it proved to be wrong. everybody believed that lapen extreme right would take advantage of the situation. it was a general belief that lapen would say, you see, i said it before and that she would take benefit out of it. it proves wrong. lapen is for the moment completely out of the game. she made a whole mess, completely stupid saying that she wanted to be invited to the demonstration as if it were a party. mrs. lapen probably mixing -- in vienna when she was a few years ago. and the demonstration in paris where there is no bristol you go with your heart and with your mttshe said i was not invited. and as i am not invited i will not go. and she went

ambassador to france. samuel laurent, a french journalist bob baer is here again with me as well as shadi hamid, brookings institution fellow. i want to begin with you, if i can, samuel laurent. i spoke to a number of french today who noticed that american absence, senior american absence. i should note for our viewers the american attorney general was in france today, continues to be here for security meetings but did not go to the rally. were the frnchench people disappointed by that? >> i would say clearly, yes, because if you remember after september 11th the president was the first, if i recall to come and visit that time the u.s. after this terrible this massive attack. well actually in this circumstances on the other hand what we can say is the visit was extremely rushed for leaders and that we all know that the u.s. is having very strict security and safety rules and that obviously i would say moving the u.s. president in this place, and it's such a time would have been hazardous as much as it was

ties inside france. you have to understand in a context of what the french authorities are dealing with. it is the largest muslim population in europe and also probably the most dangerous and most extremist. >> also ambassador, as a country getting an ak 47 isn't as easy as going to the neighborhood u hardware store and picking one up. they have two. they have extra clips of ammunition. it seems to be an automatic weapon. how do they get these in? they had some dexterity in using them. >> there's no way given the amount of people who are able to traverse france's borders. as a member of the european union, you can make it with an ak 47 to an island in greece. if empoweryou're able to get across the border of greece and smuggle it in you can make it to paris. it's not as if they had to cross the prench boarder. the smuggling of weapons is nowhere as difficult as people may perceive it to be. >> the ak 47s were originally created in the then soviet union. there are factories throughout the world in eastern

the prime minister of france said, france without the jews would no longer be france. france without jews is not france. this is what he said and this again is a real good point. not considering political belongings and politicians' quarrels. >> what about the far right, what about le pen and those who argue an anti-immigrant message? >> again as it happens often expect to be proven wrong. everyone believed that marine le pen and the extreme right would take advantage of the situation. it was a general belief that le pen would say you see and she would take benefit out of it. it proves wrong. le pen is for the moment completely out of the game. she made the whole mess, completely stupid saying that she wanted to be invited to the demonstration as if it were a party. mrs. le pen probably mixing [indiscernible] in vienna. where she was a few years ago. you go with your heart and your feet. she said i was not invited. and as i am not invited, i will not go. and she went in a city far from paris where she feels at home to make her own sad and small defeat. she puts herself

>> right now spontaneous rallies and almost every city in france and also have those outside of france. there is consensus about acting on this. the event is supposed to be at 10:00 a.m. and got a call from wing parties and includes his own party because he was closer to the left wing parties traditionally calling demonstrations in the streets. the question will be whether the party will join that march or not. >> reporter: we have not heard from cmub yet? >> a brief declaration and should be some kind of national alliance on issues and france should be extremely strong in its answers but on his quest to regain power and support along. >> reporter: eye to 2017. >> exactly. announcer: election. >> and now already said she would not join the rally. >> reporter: how significant is that? >> well she is definitely trying to play her own card and always said that if it's right or left wing or politics and moving away from republican pack and her claim is she is trying to say he was a failure for minorities and playing a political card at expense of defense of traditional values such as freed

it is clear that in france there is only one story. >> starting with less a guerrilla -"france on its feet." the newspaper estimates that 3.5 million people across the whole of france set out to show their solidarity with the work of charlie hebdo and obviously against terrorism, which seems a little conservative. later in the day yesterday, that seems to suggest it could be higher. they think 1.5 million in paris. even so, it describes the event of a human tidal wave. if that were not taboo, it gives cropping up in many of the papers in france, and it means, "on your feet" or should -- or "standing." they have a one-word headline and one of the reasons it is being used is because the editor in chief of charlie hebdo, when there were fire bombs in 2011, he said very famously and has been quoted a great many times in the past few days that he would rather die standing than live on his knees. of course, this word debout coming up again and again, the gathering could not have been more appropriate. if you are wondering what the statute is at the center of the square, because so many of u

standing with france is what we're calling our coverage. you're looking at live pictures from inside the grand synagogue in paris where israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and francois hollande are having an event, a show of safety and security a show of unity. the synagogue closed its doors, did not hold sabbath services for the first siem since world war ii. specifically the anti-semitic attacks at the jewish supermarket on friday. i'm jake tapper with my partner christhian amanpour. we've been referring to a tidal wave of humanity. now we have a better idea of how many people. >> indeed. as you say, an hour ago the interior ministry was saying it's unprecedented and we cannot give you the numbers. now they're telling us according to various news reports here 1.5 million people turned out in paris. across the country, it was more than 3 million people. that you know is something that goes to the heart of how this has touched this country, but also so much of the rest of of the world. people tuning in and we have viewers, obviously f

ambassador to france. neither the president, the vice president or secretary of state was in paris today. >> that's right. certainly eric holder the attorney general was, although, jim, it was noteworthy he did not appear to be at the rally. he was there for separate meetings. and you saw there in those pictures that you were talking about the leaders of germany, israel the uk were there. let's take a look. this is london. turned blue white, and red. the colors of the french flag. london's tribute to the paris victims was timed to happen at the same time as the marches in france. washington d.c. today, american flags and french flags flying over a silent march led by france's ambassador to the united states. also today, people rallied in berlin. in rio. and also in geneva. an outpouring that we saw, jim, all over the world. >> reporter: no question. the terror group, isis however, using this time of sadness and tribute and defiance to put out a new threat against people in the west. police officials in new

i commend france for what it did today. i think france has changed its policy. france, because it's become a victim of attack. when it was not the victim of attack, when it was trying to play the game of don't attack us, and we'll very gently let you off the hook. germany did the same thing. england did the same thing. and i'm not suggesting countries are bad because they want a palestinian state. i think countries have bad policy whence they reward hamas and palestinians who have refused to accept israel's two-state solution repeatedly. palestinians have six times rejected offers of a two-state solution. why you reward the rejectors and punish those who made the offer. that's rewarding terrorism. i think, lawrence, we can agree that when you reward any terrorist, you reward the concept of terrorism. that's what i meant. if i was imprecise, you can give me a b-minus. i'm happy to come back, though, anytime if we can have a civil, legitimate conversation. just have to give me a little advanced warning what the subject is going to be. then we can have a good conve

ambassador to france jane hartley. she wrote a very moving editorial this week, jake in, one of the main newspapers her,. le monde. as we pause to mourn the loss of life, i'm reminded how people of france showed support for us in the aftermath of 9/11. a show of support, unity and defiance here in the streets of paris as police and the french government tell us that they have everyone possible on the streets keeping an eye and keeping it safe. jake? >> thank you so much for that report. obviously there is concern about continued terrorist attacks in france as well as concern among american authorities about what the sophistication and execution of the terrorist attack, particularly the one on the offices of the french magazine charlie hebdo on wednesday but also the other attack on the kosher supermarket. what that might mean for american counter-terrorism officials going forward, what lessons can be learned? how can attacks like that be prevented going forward in the united states? let's bring in our counter terrorism

in 2003 france led opposition to the iraq war. ten years later france has been the first to join forces with the u.s. in the war against isil. in libya france was part of the operation which ousted caw daufy. but they are much more sensitive when it comes to europe. i'm joined now by remi pierre an assistant professor at qatar university. how do you describe french foreign policy in recent years. we were talking about their opposition to the iraq war, ten years later a much more interventionist at proech proech -- approach. >> yes, france opposed the war in iraq because it was fought on the false [ inaudible ] of weapons of mass destruction. and france was part of the coalition in afghanistan in 2001 2, and 3. the question is fighting against terrorism. and in the case of fighting against terrorism, whether you are looking on the right or left of politics there has been a consensus there should be a fight against terrorism. >> in 2003 you are right about what you say on the basis of the foundation of weapons as mass destruction us

and i think that france __ i have a bit more confidence in the people of france than i do the politicians of france. >> i wanted to ask you about that and about the __ the reaction of ordinary french people's. because if you look away from the international angle of this for just a moment aand focus on france, the tensions that do exist between different communities in france __ whether they be jewish, muslim, or christian __ what you think france is when it comes to getting to grips with these issues and with these tensions that we are seeing between different communities? >> i think whenever you see it media attention tthat concerns one particular group, even if it is not a representative member of the group and that person is doing something bad, that whole group __ especially if it is in the northeast __ will be tired. we see that with the mexican community in the u.s.. and we see that here with the muslim community, and even sometimes the jewish communities. >> has there been backlash against the muslims? they have been very quick to condemn the attacks. >> my question is __ in a cer

how does france heal and out as france integrate its population and how do they move on from this? that is the conversation that is occurring with alarming velocity in paris. >> as i look at our coverage this morning and the ramifications within europe and across the united states and indeed around the world, i've got to go back to the idea that one of these men at large has a record that goes back 10 years including three years roughly of incarceration. they knew who these guys were, didn't they? [applause] >> they knew the younger one. in 2005, he was arrested for trying to funnel jihadists from france to iraq. he did time in present and was let out and authorities apparently were monitoring him. he was under surveillance but apparently not close enough. interesting to note that in 2005, the time of his initial arrest, his lawyer described him as a young by drift non-devout muslim who delivered pizza and smoked hashish, not someone who would be interested in waging jihad. something happened between then and now. the questions that authorities are asking is how did these two frenc

i am france. for me it's much easier very easy to say compared to i am charlie hebdo, only because of the particular history, for you it's a history of irreverence. for me it felt more angry, nasty than that. but which clearly never should allow this kind of violence. and so i guess i wonder if the act of standing in a public space, knowing there is the possibility of increased violence is an act of courage. we will stand here. you won't scare us away with our fellow men and women. >> being black in the united states and walking down the street is courage for me. one thing as an american and i look at them from the perspective, here we are calling for a unity rally. there's going to be hundreds of thousands of people. in our country here we have editorials calling for the unwarranted surveillance. congressman peter king former mayor giuliani saying we have to get mosques to the u.s. we have to up the count terrorism effort. so while we're trying to create unity, in the united states we continue to

the prime minister of france said, france without the jews would no longer be france. france without jews is not france. this is what he said and this again is a real good point. not considering political belonging and politicians' quarre >> what aboutls. the far right, what about le pen and those who argue an anti-immigrant message? >> again as it happens often, expect to be proven wrong. everyone believed that marine le pen and the extreme right would take advantage of the situation. there was a general belief that marine le pen would say you see and she would take benefit out of it. it proves wrong. le pen is for the moment completely out of the game. she made the whole mess completely stupid saying that she wanted to be invited to the demonstration as if it were a party. mrs. le pen probably mixing [indiscernible] in vienna. a demonstrationnd to the, you go with your heart and your feet. she said i was not invited. and as i am not invited, i will not go. and she went in a city far from paris where she feels at home to make her own sad and small [indiscernible] she

integration has been more or less if a old issue in france. -- more or less a failed issue in france. there has been wide ranging exclusion of a large part of the immigrant community. not only arabs but also black african immigrants, and this, of course breeds violence and hostility. not all these people are violent or hostile towards france, of course, but nevertheless, these poorer settlements are really a breeding ground for radical views, not only in terms of radical islam, but also in terms of right-wing extremism. it is also french people who live there, impoverished people, native wrench people so to attack is being called france's 9/11. is that a fair assessment? >> 9/11 is a different story in the sense that the consequences were far more far fetching, and at the same time, three thousand people were killed in the united states at that time. also it was really a major terror attack that was done on the technical competition of how to steer an airplane and crash it into a skyscraper. this is a more modest way of terrorizing people. it is homegrown terrorism. it is a small grou

they too saying france's national anthem. outside the french consulate in istanbul turks gathered holding je suis charlie signs,too. >> i stand firmly against these evidence, which have nothing to do with islam. >> at scotland yard in london, police observed two minutes of silence. the chief constable made a statement and french to his colleagues across the channel. >> [speaking french] >> more peaceful gatherings are expected in the following days in and outside france, and "charlie hebdo" will publish one million copies of its next issue on wednesday as a determination to show that violence cannot stifle freedom of speech in france. >> it was lovely to see that british police officer they're showing his solidarity in french, wasn't it? >> it is quite remarkable. you see people in countries around the world really moved and shocked by this attack. >> and the key is that last phrase the freedom of press, that is what is under attack. you would expect after the world trade center attacks or the bombings at the metros of new yo

we had three attacks in france that were clearly terror attacks. and there is a bit of cowardice in this government that is not willing to expose the problem of radical islam. because the situation is very different from in the u.s. it's clearly an electoral and a political i would say, you know, issue for french. and so therefore, you know, we had those attacks in november in december. and the media has been explaining that that was mentally ill people while it was very clear that these were terrorist attacks. those signals were ignored and this is -- this is probably explaining also that they are thinking that france is i would say, an open lens for them. >> samuel laurent, thanks very much. a great vision of the real challenges france is facing right now and a reminder as well to our viewers that there's a new terror alert under way tonight for the possibility of new attacks on french police. thanks very much toam is wale laurent. >> thank you. >>> while france mourns the rest of the world waits and wonders. could the u.s. be next? what's to sto

>> it's unity today in france. the prime minister has said it and it's been said by everybody when the jewish attack, the republicans attack. it's not a problem of jewish, arabs, christians, it's the jewish society and the french are targets and it's something as a nation shows today solidarity to an open society to support freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of religion. we have spoken to the jewish leaders and to the authorities the past few days and today, once again, security should be strengthened on front of jewish schools, synagogues and, of course, all places where there are gatherings of the people. but of course today, we need a tolerant society, and people should be able to, you know, recognize there is one god in this world and as well as preach openness and not tolerance and not any extremism or fascism. >> i'd like to have your feeling on the fact that netanyahu and martin huberdat was here for this march. >> as joush-fresh nationality, i am very proud that worldwide leaders are here

>> well france had an extremely difficult 2014. it started off with attacks on jews following the israeli-palestinian conflict. we had an attack by a frenchman against jews in brussels. we had another attack on jews in the outskirts of paris. the unity of the country is being threatened. but it is a multicultural country and it's used to being a multicultural country. france was an empire which governed millions of muslims at one time. they're not foreign to the concept of having a diverse operation. they prize their citizenship as the sign of their national unity. and they want everyone to identify as a frenchman first. and that's where some of the tension comes from. >> sure. >> because people have multiple identities. and they want to be able to claim each of them. >> right. that constant tension between multiculturalism and unity, how do you keep that individual cultural identity while being part of the country? it's something we faced in the u.s. no question france faces and other european countries face it as well. jonathan t

that's a feature of france. one other feature, and i'll talk about it more than you wish is france had an engagement with the muslim world that is longer and intimate than is the case for britain and germany. algerians came to france to work and france after a long and bloody and heart wrenching fight in algeria over independents has never really left former colonies france is engaged economically and militarily where it once had power. in libya, syria, mallia they are bombing. it makes france enemy number two for the jihadists after america. >> it may be a triumph of geography rather than colonialism because the empire chock full of muslims was on the other side of the planet. i think we should be careful about generalising about french muslims, there are people of long duration in france of short duration in france people who are fully eculturated and people who are part of a separate nation within a nation. >> absolutely. it's a very very diverse population and one thing - there wasn't much consistency when i

in france, i think it is particularly bad. i think it will serve to strengthen the right in france. t i think it will tend to do is push the millions of happily fully integrated french muslims into the camp where they feel increasingly non-welcome. the real danger is the response will radicalize ordinary people ordinary muslims who have nothing to do with fundamentalism. in some sense, the reaction will only lead a further breakdown of french society. that will only aid the extremists. >> will that push france over the brink? >> france has stayed on the brink for so long without tipping over. what philip said is absolutely right. polls taken last year show that a very large number of voters and supporters thought there were too many immigrants. the french asked how many immigrants there are in france. the average response is three times the actual number. there is this malaise, undoubtedly. on the other side, the non-integration of second-generation immigrants those living in the suburbs, is a problem which french governments have failed to deal with. >> you've got a situation where

she reportedly left france before the attacks began. claire williams has more. >> wearing a white headscarf she showed passport and is allowed on to turkish territory. hayat boumeddiene was the partner of parachute or. she was traveling with a french citizen of north african origin not on the watch list. they attract the local authorities'suspicion. the prime minister said the country shared their intelligence with friends. >> immediately shared with french intelligence and we hope this cooperation against terrorism will bring favorite results. >> january 4, hayat boumeddiene took a the mystic flight near the syrian border. on january 8, she is believed to cross into syria, the same day that france said they were looking for her. >> the perpetrators were french nationals. these people were in prison for 16 months. 16 months later they got out of prison. wouldn't they follow them if they were released? >> turkey has become a transit route for those joining jihadists. turkey has said with 35 million foreigners coming to the country, autho

m burnett france has a strong -- let's remember that france has a strong muslim population. these leaders call other people to take to the street. this is about france, about the world reacting to what happened. it is, i think, an active resistance. >> at this juncture it is extraordinary that you have the israeli prime minister and the palestinian president, and also the jordanian king, marching in close proximity. again, this is a region where there are problematic religious differences, and i think that says a lot about the fact that these three individuals are -- none of them have raised the problem about the other being there. the fact that they are all standing together, in close proximity, says a lot. one can only hope that it becomes like group therapy where you have the opportunity to bring together individuals and hopefully start some form of dialogue. i think we have reached a turning point. >> on a political level, we haven't seen the russian foreign minister. i believe you somewhere there -- i believe he is somewhere there. you also see poroshenko. it is a very

france's interior ministry called the turnout unprecedented. this is how it went down and how cnn covered it. >> reporter: as many as a million people look at them here hundreds of thousands collected already, expected to take part and they want to send a message. terrorists who gripped this country for three days will never win. >> reporter: world leaders are here ranging from the prime minister of israel to mahmud a abbas, the german chancellor. >> france has declared war. >> you can see right there in the middle of your picture, three statues of mythical women. that is what this country and the world is standing together to defend. >> what they're obviously showing is that in the aftermath of what happened here over the past couple of days is that france as a nation is not going to allow itself to be divided. they want to show unity and that's what this rally is about. >> i was born as a muslim. i may disagree with you, but i would die defending your right to say it. >> in the after glow of the demonstrations french president francois hollan

. >> she may be the most wanted woman in france. the only suspect standing after a three-day reign of terror in paris. her alleged accomplice, amedi coulibaly killed when police raided the kosher grocery store when he took more than a dozen hostages, killing four of them. new photos reveal more of their shared past. published by the newspaper, the pictures appear to show them in the region of southern france. she was in a burqa and wielding a cross bow. the man in this photo next to coulibaly identified as djamel belhal. authorities say coulibaly had known ink are wills to jihadist grooms and to the shooters, both killed during a separate police raid. according to prosecutors, she has had over 500 calls with cherif kouachi's companion. >> are there any other co-conspirators out there that she may be trying on link back up with. >> "le monde" reports she was interviewed by counter terrorism police in 2010. the newspaper said she started a relationship with coulibaly the same year and that last spring, she met him outside prison when

france is -- france is great when it -- when it reacts to its level in front of an attack like this. france has always been able to overcome -- freedom is always bigger than barbarianism. france will -- this is what our response should be. let's get together to confront this and we will win because we have the capacity to believe in our destiny. nothing will be an obstacle for our determination. let's be united. viva la france. >>> zoo we were listening to french president francois hollande talking about the terror attack on the offices of charlie hebdo, a satirical newspaper in france. he did say flags would fly at half-staff for two days in paris and called the victims heroes. saying the french should simply be ourselves but saying security would be deployed throughout the country in response. nbc is live in paris with the latest on the ground. we just heard from the french president. what is taking place right now on the ground? >> reporter: right now investigators are still on the scene. forensic teams are still on the scene. there's a very heavy police presence around the office

also several rallies in cities and towns in france. marseille is france's second-largest city. dana, this is the south of france and you've been saying a big show of support there. >> yes there is a large gathering, a large show of solidarity condemn condemning the violence were last week. today was about the unity to stick together and overcome this. we talked to a lot of people here and people are in shock. they're afraid, and they believe this could just be the beginning. this is not going to be an one-off attack. there could be further attacks. we've heard french officials say time and time again over the past few days about the security measures they've been taking. you see the police strength on the streets but people are not comfortable. some of them even told us that the enemy is within. what are they talking about? border control. this is not going to change anything. the attackers were born and raised in our country. people are in shock. they're afraid that this could be just the start. >> politically right-wing parties have quite a bit of strength in marseille. is th

how does france heal from that? >> well this is a defining moment for the muslim community of france. they came in large number yesterday. there were scenes of solidarity and embrace between jews and muslims. but now there must clearly differentiate themselves with the members of the community that did not behave as french men. it must not be only an emotional moment. it must be a defining moment. a wake-up call for them. they must adhere deeply to the values of the republic and show it every day in their behavior. of course it is for the french republic also to come and to impose law. there are terrorists in the suburbs of france which are no longer under the rule of law. this must stop. >> thank you so much for joining us. thank you for your insight and analysis. what was really a beautiful day yesterday in france after such an ugly event. we'll be right back. >>> the world united against terror. world leaders joining millions in france in an unprecedented show of solidarity. the country reeling from terror attack

there was another individual picked up in france in southern france. he group up in the south of france, yet he went to syria to fight. picked up carrying explosive devices. there's no doubt, there's elements of professionalism. no doubt the way the bullets impacted the windshield. if al qaeda in the arabian peninsula say they did this why would they do something on this scale? if they're in their magazine they're talking about building bombs they can sneak through security and take down western airliners. why would al qaeda ratchet it down? and so that i think, is what leading many of us to think, look, these folks may have had training and may have been to a front line and met leaders from these groups. >> this could be inspirational. >> exactly, is this something merely inspired. is there a lone wolf or someone acting in concert with what they believe the priorities of isis or al qaeda are. and again, given what we see here, the scale of this, that sounds a lot more likely. >> and we're now just getting a tape fed back from our white house colleague

they must have left france because to stay in france would only greatly enhance their chances of being caught. the fact that they potentially robbed a gas station and they were in the greater paris metro area. does that tell you about who they may or may not be associated with? >> no. not yet. we don't know if their original plan was to the expectation they'd be killed by cops. we don't know if they had access to money some place and then there were -- they saw police in that area and couldn't go there and therefore they had to conduct a robbery. the idea that they could leave the country quickly is something more out of television than reality. an event like this happens the borders are shut down very quickly. as chris dickey told you the french are very, very good at what they do police domestic security. my guess is right now they'll try to lay low and we've seen time and again that if someone does lay low it could be difficult to find them. the boston marathon bombing case people -- there was this massive search to find the surviving brother. they did. in the case of the hamas terr

how much are france's foreign policiespolicies part of the problem? >> definitely, it's true that france who had nothing to do in this policy, it is a policy not in its interest, because it searches on this the interests of america and israel, and france sent people to syria or to train over there and these people are marked by the situation of the muslims in france and some of them would turn to do some violence. now, the link between this large group is the middle east, i'm not sure if it's really true, the truth or it's a manipulation. you know, i'm not sure of the link between coulibaly even if he said that. there are a lot of manipulations of people, and the secret services are strong enough to do a lot of manipulation, so if it's in your interest to imply that organization, yes. >> jacob finally let me ask you about some of the pictures we've seen. that we saw the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu in attendance standing right by the french president hollande, so leaders from israel, from russia attending this unitie marsh. they are count

crowds gathered in lyon, france. looking there in the eastern part of the country and also in toulouse france, people rallied as well. within a matter of hours more than 30,000 people said they would be attending the rally in paris. also vigils were held in berlin as well as in london. you also had one with hundreds of people in barcelona. this is happening right now in montreal. >> that's how you face down intolerance. that's good to see. ines, thank you. the four charlie hebdo artists were killed today. their work was read by millions, and they had become icons in the industry. >> stephane charbonnier had spoken out before. he was the many target of the attacks. >> in his cartoons he used the pen name charb. two of characters were forthed in this online cartoon. >> charb was assigned a personal police bodyguard in 2011 after the paper was fire bombed following a publication featuring the pro left mohammed. in can doorist jan cabut and georges wolinski, the 80-year-old was working for various publications, including

in france. >> killing at least a dozen people in the news room. >> one of them stayed in the car, the other two entered the building and began firing. k. >> a series of gunshots were heard, at least 30 rounds by some estimates. >> killing editor his bodyguard and eight others. >> "charlie hebdo" has been very, very satirical in their approach to religion. >> with a long history and controversial history. >> the offices have been fire bombed several years ago because of satirical issues it featured, the muslim prophet mo ham made. >> the french president francois hollande said nobody can believe they can act like this and get away with it. >> it is 4:00 a.m. in france and an intense manhunt is under way at this hour for the terrorists who killed 12 people and injured 11 at the paris headquarters of the french satire mgz "charlie hebdo" or charlie weekly. the attackers headed east right after the attack and this is the latest video from the scene of a police operation under way in the french east

they escaped to the outskirts of france. it is an operation which involved a lot of planning and support network. we know about the two assailants but clearly they benefited from a considerable support network as well. during a meeting going on right now at the palace of the president and his security cabinet, clearly the first priority is going to be to track down and detain or at least put out of action the attackers and anyone helping them. beyond that, we're looking at the ways in which they will be implementing a higher state of security throughout the capitol and country as a whole. we're hearing that there will be reinforcements and security sent to places viewed as potential future targets. >> i'm del walters in new york, we are two hours into that breaking news coverage from paris. we are following the massacre at the offices of a satirical magazine, 12 dead, two police, gunman wearing masks armed with automatic weapons and perhaps a rocket launcher. the magazine attacked, charlie hebdo is best scribbled as mad maga

how do they they were born in france are, they had live in france. they have opportunities, even though they're disadvantaged. really what's the tipping point? what's the drivers? why some young men, 3,000 men fighting in syria and iraq. why are they stuck in the conflict between iraq and syria? there are many questions. but the reality is out of the 5 million muslim community, if we say there are 1250 frenchmen fighting here that's a big number. but we need to understand the social conditions that basically are the drivers behind this radicalization. >> it's not representative. and the more modern voices should probably get more air time as well and heard. we got to leave it there. thanks very much. >> you're watching cnn. stay with us. we're going to take a very quick break. >>> you are watching cnn's special coverage of the paris terror attacks. i'm isha sesay. >> and i'm michael holmes. here's the latest on where things stand right now. of course those three suspects killed friday in two different police raids. >> the two brothers behind the char

france must be a team. but a team -- but to serve an army there must be an ongoing military commitment and in these circumstances, we need to mobilize first of all the active army. there is no army without men and women to serve it. and that is why i with the prime minister and the minister of defense it is my responsibility which is linked to my function as head of state and head of the armed forces. i am very vigilant in the context that i just described as -- with regard to the number of armed forces and the restructuring which are planned. the exceptional situation we are undergoing at the moment leads us to review our reduction in the numbers of the armed forces that had been planned for the next three years, for the armed forces. this rhythm must be reviewed and adapted. i therefore ask the minister of defense to give me some proposals by the end of the week by taking into account, of course the budgetary restrictions. i will have a defense meeting on wednesday, and i will therefore take a decision. t

france is very upset about this. because notwithstanding its long history of terrorism and enduring terrorism as you've described it this is really extraordinary, even in a french context. the number of dead coming out is something that has never been seen in this country before. but there's one other element that you didn't touch on that i think has to be understood about the experience of france with terrorism. france understood terrorism in the days of palestinian terrorism. for instance the joe goldenburg deli massacre that you mentioned at the beginning. they understand that terrorism is a brutal form of negotiation. al-qaida terrible rich al-qaida terribleorism is nonnegotiable. it wants to conquer france, eventually. it wants to take over. that may be fanciful, but that's what it wants. that's why the prime minister talks about this as a war. it's not just terrorism. it is a war. and it's a war basically toet death. and i think that that's the thing -- that sort of dawning consciousness of that is what's new i

we're following breaking news out of france. the country on its highest security alert after a deadly and brazen terror attack right in the heart of paris. french police are hunting for three terrorists at least two of them stormed the office of the satirical newspaper charlie hebdo and opened fire. eyewitnesses took video that you're about too see as the attack unfolded just a few hours ago. it's shot from a nearby roof top and you can hear the gunfire ringing out and someone shouting "god is great." they have also cried "we have avenged the prophet." an see the gunman running, you hear shots being fired. there's the chilling pictures that was also posted on twitter of one of the masked attackers holding a gun as a policeman lies on the ground. at least a dozen people are confirmed dead eight people are wounded, four of them critically. the gunmen are still on the loose as of right now. the wounded were put on stretchers they were taken away in ambulances. witnesses say the assailants were dressed in black, they wore hoods and

france has had problems with how immigrants to france have sort of conducted -- have been treated as part of french society. the whole -- this immigrant population that rings paris in the suburbs. they are not really part of french culture. you have the laws that have been passed in france restricting wearing inging bu rrkas. the united states, we are a melting pot. there is -- my family moved to the u.s., you know, 20 years ago and there's a reason why we chose to come to the united states instead of moving to europe. one reason, we thought we would be treated better. >> david brooks, 17 people are dead in paris, 2,000 nigerias in the name of islamic radicalism were killed this week. boko haram in nigeria. it's a worldwide -- what is this? >> failed states. say you are in college or want to give money, we give money to clean water, all that anti-poverty stuff. the central program is law and order. you can't get rich if you are afraid of getting shot in the back of the head at night. if you are giving as an individual, if you are thinking as a state, giving to law and order groups, t

i'm frances rivera. thanks for joining us. back to paris and the highest terror alert remains in effect in france. this as we get new reports that the woman linked to the terror system suspects may into the have been involved as previously thought. hayat boumeddiene is still being pursued. but they say she flew to turkey and then crossed over to syria on january 2nd. this morning president francois hollande haddage emergency meeting. forces are planning for a major unity rally. ahead of tomorrow's rally, several cities showed tens of thousands marching in solidarity with the victims of this week's attacks, a day after yesterday's dual sieges, one in eastern paris where amedy was killed inside a kosher grocery store simultaneously

take france for example. france has about 5 million muslims. we are talking about 1,000 young men who have traveled to iraq and syria to fight with isis. yes, it is a large number. 1,000. very deadly. all it takes two or three people to do a great deal of damage. we are talking about a small, tiny segment that is dangerous which has bought into the particular ideology. the second point about said and cherif kouachi, the two brothers. cherif is on record saying he was self radicalized he said the images in the prisons in 2003 and 2005. he basically tried in 2005 to create a network to send militants in iraq. his brother, said traveled to syria. you have iraq and syria which served as basically theaters to radicalize people in syria, but thousands of young men in european countries. >> the inconsistency is these gentlemen did not try to bomb a u.s. embassy. they tried to bomb or they shot and killed people in a place where believe it or not, the cartoonist of "charlie hedbo" mocked the united states government and the very wars these gentlemen we

we heard a shout-out to france. and then i thought the most explicit part was george clooney speaking. this is what he said while accepting a lifetime achievement award. >> today was an extraordinary day. millions of people marched not just in paris but around the world. there were christians and jews and muslims. they were leaders of countries all over the world. and they didn't march in protest. they marched in support of the idea that we will not walk in fear. we won't do it. so je suis charlie. thank you. >> he was wearing a button with the same message on it and so was his wife. that got some attention on the red carpet. a couple photographers brought charlie signs. >> george clooney got a lifetime achievement award. he's 53. >> he's done a lot i guess. i would say his wife has done more. i thought it was interesting. tina and amy went there. they made jokes at the expense of bill cosby. it was a provocative evening. some of the wins. an amazon show about a transgender character winning one of the biggest gloel

in france an attack 12, killed the president of france calls it a terror attack that would make it the most deadly in two decades. two heavily armed men at least, semiautomatic weapons, maybe a rocket-propelled grenade, attacked the offices of a french satirical magazine. why? this magazine had a history of doing things with respect to islam that were seen as provocative. that's what the magazine does. it does religious and political sapphire. it had been fire bombed in 201 by islamic extremists because of that. today at lunch time it was having its editorial meeting when the attack happened. alisyn this is what eyewitnesses picked up while the shooting was going on. >> the suspects remain at large at this hour. president francois hollande raised the country's terror system to its highest. all will be beefed up with much more security. we're on top of the story. jim bitterman is live on the ground for us in paris. what do we know at this hour jim? >> reporter: this is quite a dramatic situation. there's a crisis meeting going on right here at the presidential palace. the top ministers

france is a land of religious freedom. and at the same time, it tries to keep a balance as it makes religion not part of the public sphere and that is important. look at the leaders i have talked to and said we have no problems as long as it is enforced in an evenhanded way. there are few catholic school, for example. muslims should not be given a hard time when they want to create muslim schools. there is no problem with that. the second point would be there are a number of measures taken recently a known problem given a solution that was really seen by many, mostly muslim is one more insult directed toward them. the strange efforts taken to keep mothers wear headscarves when accompanying school outings comes up again and again and muslims see it as an attack on them. if they were to see the user rather silly, symbolic items a evenhanded enforcement of the secular tradition, i do not think muslims have a problem with it. >> john bowen, a professor at washington university in st. louis. i want to thank you very much indeed

for a second night now, france remains honest highest alert. the killer still remain on the loose, but the net may be closing. >> it's night, now, they're in france. what is happening? is this manhunt still under way? >> a little bit earlier this evening, all of those police teams who had been in their coming their way through the village then moving their way into the forest then next to it. what we have seen here is the convoy 30 or 40 vehicles strong moving out, pulling out of here carrying officers. it appears that search being scaled down for the night, but police dog teams heading towards that village, which is still sealed off, so it seems that the search is going on, the police have reduced things a bit. they are not certain i think at the minute that they will continue all day tomorrow. we'll see what happens. >> what are you hearing? do they still think that these men are in that area? >> well, interestingly, the one thing they do seem fairly certain about now -- sources talking to french media -- that the hijacking, the theft at the