PARIS — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry paid respect in both English and French on Friday to the victims of last week's terrorist attacks in Paris in a show of American solidarity with the French people.
At a ceremony at the Hotel de Ville, the city hall of Paris, Kerry called the attacks a "living nightmare" but one that would unite rather than divide the people of France and the world.
"I really wanted to come here and share a hug with all of Paris and all friends," he told the crowd that included survivors, family members of victims, and members of the police and municipal government who responded to the attacks, including the Muslim man who risked his life to hide Jewish patrons from the gunman who stormed a kosher supermarket. "I wanted to express to you personally the sheer horror and revulsion of all Americans for the cowardly and despicable assault on innocent lives," Kerry said.
The secretary's visit to Paris, his 19th to the city since he became secretary of state, came amid lingering criticism in the United States of the Obama administration's failure to send a Cabinet-level official to Paris for last Sunday's unity march that attracted some 40 world leaders and more than a million demonstrators. Kerry did not address the matter but pointedly stressed the close bonds between the U.S. and France.
"I represent a nation grateful each day that France is our oldest ally," he said before introducing his friend, musician James Taylor, who performed his hit "You've Got a Friend," starting with several bars of the French national anthem. The event was called an "Homage de John Kerry a Paris."
Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.