THE world stood united against IS with one message last night: “Je Suis Paris.”
Famous landmarks around the globe were bathed in the blue, white and red of the French flag in a powerful show of solidarity and defiance against terrorists.
In London, the Tricolour flew at half-mast over Downing Street while Tower Bridge shone in the flag’s colours above the River Thames.
Germany beamed the colours on to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, making the 18th-century landmark resemble the French flag itself.
And the sails of the iconic Sydney Opera House in Australia also turned blue, white and red under the beam of powerful lights.
Meanwhile locals held up cardboard placards declaring, “We are all Parisians.”
“Je Suis Paris” — I Am Paris — echoes the “Je Suis Charlie” slogan after January’s Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris.
In America, San Francisco City Hall was lit up and the One World Trade Center — which was built in defiance of another terrorist atrocity on 9/11 in 2001 — saw its spire bearing the pride of the Tricolour.
Mexico beamed a projection on to the Senate Building in Mexico City.
And Canada projected the colours of the French flag on to the Calgary Tower in Alberta.
Asia demonstrated its support for the French people with Shanghai’s Oriental Pearl TV Tower illuminated.
And in Taiwan, the Taipei 101 skyscraper, formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, shone brightly with the famous blue, white and red.
Light seemed to be a recurring theme with hundreds of people lighting candles at makeshift shrines set up at the scene of the tragedies in France.
But the iconic Eiffel Tower was in total darkness as the country mourned its dead.
A stylised image of the tower inside the CND symbol, to stand for “Peace for Paris”, went viral yesterday after being designed by French graphic artist, Jean Jullien, 32, who lives in London.
He had listening to the unfolding horror on the radio on Friday. He said: “My first reaction was to draw something and share it. It was spontaneous. I wanted to do something that could be useful for people.”
On Twitter the hashtag #PrayforParis trended worldwide as mourners gathered to declare their sympathy and solidarity for the victims.
They flocked to monuments in their countries keen to see them bathed in light and bearing the colours of the French flag.
As the sun went down, London Bridge thronged with locals and tourists who had gathered to view Tower Bridge a little further along the Thames.
Many gazed at the moving sight in silence. Others took photos of the iconic landmark to mark the solemn occasion.
The Tower Bridge Twitter account retweeted a post from the City of London yesterday morning, saying: “@TowerBridge will be lit in the colours of the tricolour from sundown tonight.”
Londoners tweeted their support for the gesture, with one saying: “Fantastic — especially as it’s the best bridge in London. Must all show solidarity.”
Another simply wrote: “Bravo.” And one added: “Beautiful! Thank you.” The London Eye and Wembley Stadium — which will see England host the French national football team on Tuesday night — and were also coloured blue, white and red.
And outside the North London ground, the French national motto “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” — liberty, equality, fraternity — appeared on a screen.
The displays of solidarity with the mourning French nation swiftly grew right across the globe yesterday as the devastating impact of the atrocities left people shellshocked, tearful and fearful — but still defiant against the terrorists.
Crowds stood at the base of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, carrying banners that read simply “Rio est Paris” — Rio is Paris.