Several hundred metro Atlantans came together Sunday to pay respect and show solidarity with the French people after the Paris terror attacks.
People placed flowers, notes and postcards of Paris at a makeshift memorial outside the vigil held at the French consulate in Buckhead.
Denis Barbet, the French consul general in Atlanta, recalled a March down the streets of Atlanta earlier this year after the terror attack at a French magazine.
“We hoped that was the last time we had to deal with terrorism and bigotry. We were wrong,” he said.
He added, “Fighting terrorism is a long, long, long fight forward.”
People spoke of the terror attacks as an act of war that warranted a strong military response. Many said the United States should stand beside that effort with France.
“We have to form a coalition much more stringent than we have,” said Russell Hodges Jr., a retired Marine who lives in Conyers.
Others, though, said they wanted more efforts put to peace.
“I’m a pacifist. Certainly I want the perpetrators caught and stopped. But I think we should focus on the healing,” said Rachel Norwood, 51, of Tucker.
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