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French President Francois Hollande decried the barbaric attack carried out today against the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine that drew the ire of Islamists for publishing controversial drawings of the Prophet Mohammed. Below is a running take of updates culled from European media. All timestamps are in local French time:

    7:00 p.m.: Vigils began at London's Trafalgar Square.

  • 8:06 p.m from The Guardian: A terse, emotional Francois Hollande, during a speech, intoned, "Vive la republique. Vive la France."
  • 7:55 p.m from The Guardian: Merkel and Cameron received a joint briefing from the directors of M15 and M16. From the newspaper: "The central message given by the UK intelligence agencies to Merkel and Cameron was the killers were determined, well armed, calm and clear and must have carefully prepared, suggesting these may not have been self-starters, but part of an organised group. This information, UK sources said, was not based on specific intelligence, but an assessment based on videos, eye witness reports and past attacks."
  • "Je Suis Charlie" hashtag takes off:
  • Qatar condemns attack.
  • Louis Sarkozy, the son of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, on Twitter:
  • 7:22 p.m. from Le Figaro: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited the French Embassy in Rome. Renzi: "This wasn't just an attack on France, it was an attack on Europe's freedom to be Europe."
  • 6:55 p.m. from BBC broadcast: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is in the United Kingdom visiting with British Prime Minister David Cameron, said she shared a moving telephone conversation with French President Francois Hollande.
  • Place de la Republique:
  • 6:30 p.m. from El Pais: The official toll stands at 12 dead and four wounded. Autopsies will be performed tomorrow morning, and the list of casualties has been transferred to the French Ministry of Justice so that aid measures can be extended.
  • 6:25 p.m.: Guardian political cartoonist on BBC: Someone has to stand up for the right to "take the piss out of these monsters, these fools."
  • 6:16 p.m.: BBC broadcasts French prosecutor's statements. Hijacked car was a (Renault) Clio. The inquiry is still ongoing, and the killers, at large, are of course very dangerous. Twenty magistrates can be mobilized for eight consecutive days as part of the inquiry.
  • 6:10 p.m. from Les Echos: French prosecutor general confirms that according to witnesses, attackers yelled "Allah Akbar" as they stormed the building.
  • 5:55 p.m. from Le Figaro: National Front leader Marine Le Pen says this act was carried out in the name of radical Islam, and that it's time to "free up our speech" regarding fundamentalist Islam.
  • 5:47 p.m. from Le Monde: Another victim has been named: Michel Renaud.
  • 5:36 p.m.: BBC broadcast reporters said that according to reports, the attackers hijacked a vehicle to escape, later releasing the driver.
  • From Le Monde: Secretary of State John Kerry delivered remarks in French regarding the attack, calling the slain journalists "martyrs of liberty." 

    • John Kerry : « Le pouvoir de la liberté d... by lemondefr
  • 5:06 p.m. from BBC: Charlie Hebdo site back online.
  • The attackers displayed professional professional training, via Long War Journal.
  • 5:05 p.m.from Le Monde: The French Army is activating two additional 100-strong units to support highest-alert security measures.
  • 4:36 p.m. from Le Figaro: Murdered journalist Stephane Charbonnier had been the target of increasing threats in the days before this attack, according to a security source close to the matter.
  • 4:35 p.m.: There are no plans to close the U.S. Embassy today.
  • 4:29 p.m. from BBC: Police remove the car they believe was used by the attackers, from a neighborhood in northern Paris:
  • 4:16 p.m. from The Local: French Muslim leaders fear backlash. "The next victim will certainly be a Muslim," said Samy Debah, the president of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France.
  • 4:09 p.m: Le Monde reached Charlie Hebdo Editor in Chief Gerard Biard, who is in London. Biard: "I am shattered and at the same time indignant. It hasn't hit me yet. ... I hope that this time we won't have to hear that we are ... provocateurs." Going on, he asks: "Have they won? What does a democratic state do in a situation like this?"
  • 4:06 p.m. from El Pais: An employee of Charlie Hebdo told L'Humanite that the assailants spoke perfect French and said they were al Qaeda members.
  • 4:01 p.m. Le Monde tells readers that while they are being inundated with requests for further updates, security forces are reticent at the moment as the operation continues.
  • 3:52 p.m. from Le Monde: Rallies in support of Charlie Hebdo scheduled throughout France this evening:
  • 3:40 p.m. from Le Monde: Economist Bernard Maris among the victims.
  • 3:32 p.m. from Le Monde: Prime Minister Francois Fillon says that the attackers hope to intimidate the French, but "they will only reinforce our courage."
  • 3:26 p.m. from BBC: Reuters is reporting that Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper that triggered protests in some Muslim countries after publishing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, has increased its security following today's attack.
  • 3:17 p.m. from Le Monde: The police are asking citizens for help. The number within France: 0805 02 17 17
  • 3:15 p.m. via the BBC: It is not known whether there were two or three attackers.
  • 3:04 p.m. from Le Monde: The Assembly in mourning.
  • 2:56 p.m. from Les Echos: Assailants were armed with Kalashnikovs, but not rocket launchers.
  • "The worst massacre of journalists in France since the Nazi occupation," via The Commentator.
  • 2:24 p.m. from Les Echos: The 42 second-video that shows the violence of the attackers.
  • 1:44 p.m. from Le Figaro: Former President Nicolas Sarkozy: "Our democracy has been attacked."

 

  • Four high-profile cartoon artists among the dead, from Le Monde: