Republican marches

Republican marches
Demonstrators in place de la République, Paris, 11 January 2015.
Date	10 January 2015 (2015-01-10) – 11 January 2015 (2015-01-11)
Location	France, international See: list
Causes	Charlie Hebdo shooting
Goals	Fight against terrorism Freedom of the press Freedom of expression
Methods	Rallies, marches
Number
4.4 million in France 100k+ internationally Attended by 40 world leaders

The Republican marches (French: marches républicaines) were a series of rallies that took place in cities across France on 10–11 January 2015 to honour the victims of the Charlie Hebdo shooting, the Montrouge shooting, and the Porte de Vincennes siege, and also to voice support for freedom of speech.

French government officials estimated that the rallies were attended by up to 3.7 million people nationwide, making them the largest public rallies in France since 1944, when Paris was liberated from the Nazis at the end of World War II, and also the biggest in French history.

In Paris, due to the expected number of people, three streets were planned for the march from Place de la République to Place de la Nation. It was estimated that between 1.5 and 2 million people marched down and nearby Boulevard Voltaire in Paris. The Paris marches were attended by 40 world leaders, from both Europe and around the world. The presence during the marches of foreign leaders who are accused of not respecting freedom of speech in their own country has been criticized.

In other cities in France, more than 300,000 rallied in Lyon, about a quarter of the population. More than 100,000 marched the streets of Rennes, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Montpellier and Marseille (within two days). Major rallies took place in Montreal, Brussels, Berlin, Amsterdam and Vienna.