LONDON, United Kingdom – Rumour has it that Nelson’s column – the 50-metre-high monument to Great Britain’s Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson in London’s Trafalgar Square – faces south to make sure the French are not invading. Tonight however, he may just have been smiling down solemnly as hundreds of people gathered around the statue dedicated to him, expressing solidarity with the French who killed him, against fascist, Islamist terrorists.
Projectors blasted the Tricolore, the French flag, onto the National Gallery (below) as demonstrators flew flags, sang songs, and held moments of silence for those killed, wounded, and affected by the heinous terrorist atrocity waged on the French capital yesterday.
An aura of uneasiness was palpable as news reached about a police raid, and potential gunshots, emanating from the Pullman Hotel in France. “Not again,” we all thought.
But spirits were soon calmed, and the crowd of mostly French ex-pats and students returned to their defiant moods, even though it was clear that some were conflicted about Europe’s role in bringing terror upon itself by facilitating the migrant crisis, and indeed in the left’s relativism over ISIS.
The plaques on Nelson’s Column may be made from the recast, captured French guns, but London’s large, French community were insistent on showing their mettle tonight.
PICTURES FOLLOW:
Crowds gather outside the National Gallery (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
Mobile phone lights were used to usher in the minute’s silence (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
A couple holds hands in the crowd (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
One Muslim woman brought the “Muslims for Peace” sign (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
The Tricolore was everywhere (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
Bizarrely, a few people waved European Union flags (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
Phones out under Nelson’s column (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
American and French flags (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
One girl holds a candle app on her smart phone (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
The meaning of the sign was unclear (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
Flags waving (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
Some signs used the now famous French peace logo (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
“Not afraid” (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
The National Gallery (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
Signs that read: “I’ve not wronged” and “we are united” (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
A huge French flag stands under Nelson (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
The solitary “Muslims 4 Peace” activist (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
The projector lights catch the rain as one girl holds a candle (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
Projector lights show the Tricolore in the rain (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)
The flag reflected in Trafalgar Square’s fountains (Breitbart London/Rachel Megawhat)