France Begins One-Year Commemorations of Charlie Hebdo Attack

French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday unveiled a plaque at the former offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo as commemorations began to mark the attack there and two more days of horror.

In a sombre, wordless observance under a light drizzle, Hollande, flanked by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, also laid a wreath under the plaque bearing the names of the 11 victims shot dead at the newspaper’s offices in eastern Paris.

The entourage moved on to the nearby road to unveil a plaque at the site where one of the jihadist gunmen fleeing the scene shot a police officer as he lay on the pavement.

Hollande will also unveil a plaque at the Hyper Cacher, a kosher supermarket where four Jewish shoppers were killed.

A total of 17 people were killed in the three days of attacks dubbed “France’s 9/11”, marking the start of a string of jihadist strikes in the country that culminated in November’s massacre in Paris.