More than 1,000 gather at Washington Square Park vigil after Paris terror attacks
Mayor Bill de Blasio lays flowers with French Ambassador Gerard Araud and Consulate General Bertrand Lortholary at the Arch at Washington Square Park in Manhattan on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, to honor the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris. Credit: CS Muncy
More than 1,000 people, many of them French, descended upon Washington Square Park on Saturday afternoon for a vigil in honor of the victims of the terror attacks in Paris.
Joined by French Consul General Bertrand Lortholary and other dignitaries, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio placed a bouquet of flowers on a memorial under the arch at the park.
"Our city knows this pain," de Blasio told the crowd. "We know Paris will persevere. We know we'll be strong together."
The mayor shouted, "Vive la France!" and the crowd responded in kind.
De Blasio then invited the consul general to sing the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, along with the crowd.
The mayor later addressed the media about the terrorism in France, where the Paris prosecutor says more than 120 people were killed and hundreds more injured following gun attacks at Paris cafes, suicide bombs near France's national stadium and a hostage crisis inside a concert hall during a rock show.
De Blasio said there are 1,500 NYPD officers dedicated to thwarting, preventing and detecting terrorism in the city.
"We are not going to be intimidated by terrorists."
His advice to the French: "Stay strong."
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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