More than 1M people march in Paris

More than a million people gathered in Paris Sunday for a massive rally commemorating the lives of people killed in last week’s terrorist attacks.

Led by more than 40 world leaders, the crowd marched from the Place de la République to the Place de la Nation, a length of about two miles. Reports estimated that more than 3,000 police and military personnel were deployed along the route as France braced for the possibility of additional violence.

{mosads}The gathering was a show of solidarity after 17 people were killed by Islamist extremists in a series of attacks this week. The saga began when two gunmen stormed satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday and continued with the siege of a kosher supermarket and the shooting of police officers.

The three main suspects in the attacks were killed by police. But French police sources told the media that additional terrorist cells were activated by the violence and may continue to pose an immediate threat.

The killings are raising sensitive questions for France about free speech and religion as the country struggles to integrate a growing Muslim minority. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Saturday that the country was at war with “radical Islam.”

French Muslims joined Sunday’s march bearing messages of peace, including “Islam is Against Terrorism.”

The vast number of world leaders present posed a particular security challenge for French forces after five days on high alert.

Participants included French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Representatives from the Arab League and the European Union also joined the march.

The crowd observed a moment of silence before beginning their procession toward the Place de la Nation chanting “liberté” and “Charlie.” Reports estimated that the crowd’s total number was between 1.3 million and 2 million.

— This report was updated at 3:25 p.m.