A French flag flapped as strong winds whipped through Washington Square Park Saturday afternoon as hundreds of people gathered silently to show support for the 129 people who were killed and 352 injured in terrorist attacks in Paris the night before.
Breaking the silence, the French national anthem, practically whispered, echoed beneath the park’s arch. Some cried. Others simply stood with their eyes closed.
“This violence is just so terrible. I don’t know what to do,” said Christine Giard, a French citizen, said. “My friend’s godson is dead My son called me after landing in Paris last night to tell me he loved me, just in case.”
The supporters huddled around a large piece of white paper laying on the ground beneath the arch. They passed around a pen to write messages of solidarity.
A Parsons student originally hosted the Facebook page publicizing the event which garnered more than 6,000 RSVPs.
Even New York’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, came to show his support for “our sister city.”
“We are doing everything we can to help,” he said at the northeast corner of the arch, swarmed by press.
De Blasio released a statement yesterday expressing his remorse and solidarity to “our sister city.”
In the statement, he assured that the NYPD was taking counterterrorism measures very seriously around the city, but was careful to clarify this was a precautionary measure and that no viable threats had been made.
Police stood watch around the vigil and in the subways.
“I’m here because my friends in Paris made a point to tell me how comforted they are knowing there is support overseas,” said Marie Jose, a Paris native “They know they are not alone.”
Her nephew could’ve been one of the victims, she said. He had tickets to the Eagles of Death Metal concert at Le Batacan, where gunmen killed more than 100 people, but decided not to go at the last minute.
At the Saturday rally, Jose held a sign that her young daughter made with the Eiffel Tower within the peace sign, a symbol that has become a sign of solidarity with the victims of the attacks.
“Friends of friends have been shot,” said Emma Ravitz, a New School student who studied at Parsons Paris in the spring. She was wearing a sweatshirt with Paris written across the chest.
Yesterday, she had posted “My heart is with my second home right now. PLEASE everybody stay safe. Je t’aime” on her Facebook wall. This form of support has flooded social media, the hashtags #PrayForParis, #NewYorkIsParis and #StandInSolidarity popping up within posts of love and concern.
The outpouring of love stood in complete contrast to the terrorist organization ISIS which claimed responsibility for the attacks in Paris and which Secretary of State John Kerry Monday in Paris as “psychopathic monsters.”
The New School Free Press has been able to confirm that all Parsons Paris students currently studying are safe.