President Obama condemned the acts as made the following statement from the White House this morning, condemning the acts “cowardly, evil attacks:”
“I want to express my deepest sympathies to the people of Paris and the people of France for the terrible terrorist attack that took place earlier today. I think that all of us recognise that France is one of our oldest allies, our strongest allies. They have been with us at every moment from 9-11 on in dealing with the terrorist organisations around the world that threaten us. For us to see the kind of cowardly, evil attacks that took place today reinforces once again why it’s so important again for us to stand in solidarity with them, just as they stand in solidarity with us. The fact that this was an attack on journalists, an attack on our free press also underscores that these terrorists fear freedom of speech and freedom of the press. The values that we share with the French people- a universal belief in freedom, the freedom of expression is something that can’t be silenced by the senseless violence of a few.
The most important thing I’ll say is that our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those that were lost in France, and with the people of Paris and the people of France. What that beautiful city represents, the culture, the civilisation that is so central to our imagination, that’s going to remain. And those who carry out senseless attacks against innocent civilians ultimately will be forgotten. And we will stay with the people of Paris through this very difficult time.”
