THE French consulate in Guyana on Tuesday opened a Book of Condolence to members of the public in memory of the 12 persons who were executed two Mondays ago in Paris during an attack on the French weekly, “Charlie Hebdo”.On the said date around 11:30hrs, two armed gunmen stormed the media house killing 12 persons, among them the editor, seven other Charlie Hebdo employees, and two policemen, and injuring 11 others.

This came against the backdrop of “Charlie Hebdo” attracting attention through their depictions of Muhammad, the founder of Islam.
Following the attack on the newspaper, another gunman also took hostages at a kosher supermarket near the Porte de Vincennes. GIGN (a special operations unit of the French Armed Forces) combined with RAID and BRI (special operations units of the French Police) conducted simultaneous raids in Dammartin and at Porte de Vincennes. Three terrorists were killed along with other hostages in the Vincennes supermarket before the intervention. Some hostages were also injured.
It was then that on Sunday last a group of just over 40 world leaders assembled in France for a rally to lend their support for freedom of speech, justice and equality and to sympathise with the people of France, while honouring the 17 victims who were killed. Some four million people also gathered at the rally to support the cause.
As such, the French Consul to Guyana, Pierre Saint-Arroman opted to pay tribute by opening a book of condolence yesterday at their 276 Peter Rose Street address. He explained that the response thus far from the diplomatic community has been exceptional and he is very much appreciative of their efforts.
The Book was closed at 12:00pm Tuesday, and scheduled to be re-opened yesterday at 09:00am to 12:00pm for the final session of signing.