Photo: Manu Fernandez/AP

(VOVworld) - Thousands of people flocked to the streets on Wednesday and Thursday to condemn the shooting that killed 12 people on January 7^th at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

In Paris, thousands of people gathered at Republic Square, about 1 km from the Charlie Hebdo offices. Flowers, candles, and pictures of 5 artists killed in the attack covered the square’s monument to commemorate the victims. Many people proudly held 'Je Suis Charlie' or “I’m Charlie” signs above their heads.

In the Netherlands, people gathered in the streets of the Hague and Rotterdam to condemn extremism. Rotterdam Mayor Admed Aboutaleb delivered a speech in French to express Rotterdam people’s unity with Parisians and the Charlie Hebdo staff.

People also gathered in front of the French Embassy in Italy and laid wreaths outside a French representative office in Moscow to show their sympathy and solidarity with France.

Various activities took place in other countries on Wednesday to pray for Charlie Hebdo victims. The same day, the UN Security Council held a minute of silence in commemoration of the victims and strongly condemned this act of terrorism.