Hollande: France Will Never Surrender to Terror and Fear-Mongering

François Hollande, the President of France, emphasized on Tuesday, January 13, during a memorial ceremony for three police officers who fell victim to recent attacks by Muslim extremists in Paris, that France will never surrender to terror and fear-mongering. On the same day, Israel also witnessed the burial of four Jews who were killed in last week's hostage crisis in the French capital. According to the French news agency, François Hollande paid tribute to the three police officers, stating, 'They were killed so that we can live in freedom.' He also noted that 'France, great and beautiful,' in the face of the threat from Islamists that 'still remains both inside and outside the country,' 'will never break, will never surrender, and will never kneel.' In last week's attack by extremist Islamists on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, police officers Frank Brinsolaro, 49, and Ahmed Merabet, 40, were killed. The third officer, Clarissa Jean-Philippe, was killed the following day in a related attack. In total, these attacks, which continued with a hostage situation at a Jewish supermarket in Paris, resulted in 17 deaths, in addition to the hostage-taker and the two main perpetrators of the Charlie Hebdo attack. The French news agency further states that on Tuesday in Jerusalem, thousands attended the funeral of the four Jewish hostages. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, who was among the mourners, told the attendees that world leaders are just beginning to understand the 'threat of Islamic extremism.' Reuven Rivlin, the President of Israel, who was also present at the ceremony, emphasized that it is unacceptable for Jews to live in fear in Europe once again. He stated, 'We cannot allow Jews to be afraid to walk the streets of Europe in 2015, seventy years after the end of World War II.' Previously, François Hollande had emphasized that France will continue to be an enemy of racism and anti-Semitism. Paris also witnessed a unity march of hundreds of thousands on Sunday in protest against the recent attacks, which was attended by leaders and officials from over 40 countries, including Israel.