PARIS - A “Peace for Paris” symbol, combining the city’s beloved Eiffel Tower with the peace sign of the Sixties, has gone viral following the Paris terror attacks.
The designer is a 32-year-old French graphic artist, Jean Jullien, who lives in London. Listening to the radio, he became horrified by the violence unfolding in his nation’s capital and reached for his sketchpad. “My first reaction was to draw something and share it,” he told AFP. “It was spontaneous. I wanted to do something that could be useful for people.”
“Given the scale of the violence, the peace-and-love symbol was essential. It was then quite an easy thing to combine it with the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris,” he added. “The two symbols fit together.” The peace-and-love motif was adopted by Britain’s Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in the 1950s, before being used by anti-war and “counter-culture” militants in the 1960s.
Jullien posted the combined symbol on his website and then tweeted it. Within hours, it was shared more 45,000 times and retweeted 76,000 times, including by the British underground artist Banksy. At least 128 people were killed and several hundred were killed in coordinated gun-and-explosives attacks on a Paris concert hall, restaurants and the Stade de France stadium.
A similiar Internet phenomenon occurred after the January 7 attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, in which 12 people were killed by jihadist gunmen. Joachim Roncin, artist director and music journalist at the lifestyle magazine Stylist, devised a slogan of solidarity, “Je Suis Charlie” (I am Charlie), in white capital letters on a black background. He placed the image on social media, and within hours it was picked up around France and beyond, becoming the totem of nationwide rallies totalling an estimated four million. Moreover, London paid homage on Saturday to the victims of the Paris terror attacks with mourners gathering in Trafalgar Square and iconic landmark Tower Bridge due to be lit in the French flag’s red, white and blue.
The fountains in the square will also take on the colours of the Tricolour, which will be projected onto the National Gallery, local officials said. “At times like this it’s important to show solidarity with the French people, especially since we’re so close to Paris, it could easily happen here,” said British student Alice Zhao, 18.
Braving the afternoon rain, around 150 people displayed flags and home-made placards reading “Nous sommes Paris” (We are Paris) and “London stands with Paris”. A “Pray for Paris” vigil was due to be held later Saturday in the famous square, organised by members of London’s estimated 300,000-strong French community. A planned firework display to honour the new mayor of the City of London was also cancelled, and instead Tower Bridge will be illuminated in the colours of the Tricolour.
The huge arch at Wembley Stadium — where England will take on France in a friendly football match on Tuesday — was earlier emblazoned red, white and blue. The French embassy became a shrine to the 128 people killed in Friday’s attacks, with around 60 bouquets laid at its front step. “I just felt numb. It was just a sense that this kind of thing isn’t really a surprise anymore. It just happens over and over and over,” said Jonathan, 24, who cycles past the embassy on his commute to work.
Andrey Sidelnikov, a Russian national, said: “We need to tell the all the world that we want to live in peace, only in peace. We don’t want to live in war”. At London’s St Pancras International station, terminal for the Eurostar train service to Paris and other continental destinations, at least a dozen police officers patrolled the concourse, some carrying arms. “It was sad, really sad. Not a lot of people in the streets, a lot of people staying home. Everyone looking down, or looking suspiciously,” said French student Daria Putilina, who had arrived from Paris.
Pam, a British tourist, said: “Paris was quite quiet. I didn’t feel afraid, and I would not have cut my trip short if I wasn’t returning today.” Faith groups the Christian-Muslim Forum and the Muslim Council of Britain also announced a silent vigil at Trafalgar Square on Saturday, with attendees bringing tea lights and blue, white and red flowers. “This attack is being claimed by the group calling themselves ‘Islamic State’,” said Muslim Council of Britain’s Secretary General Shuja Shafi.
“There is nothing Islamic about such people and their actions are evil, and outside the boundaries set by our faith,” he said. Public figures including Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister David Cameron along with former footballer David Beckham, author J.K. Rowling and pop star Elton John lined up to pay tribute. The Queen said she and husband Prince Philip were “deeply shocked and saddened by the terrible loss of life in Paris” while Cameron told the French people: “Your pain is our pain, your fight is our fight.”
Beckham posted a photograph of Paris on social media, writing: “As the sun rises in this beautiful city we remember the people that have died and the families that have lost loved ones... Our thoughts are with you all...PrayForParis”.