The French ambassador to Australia is heartened by the response of his fellow countrymen in the wake of the deadly Paris terror attack.
Hundreds of thousands of people are rallying in France's biggest cities to show they will stand united against terror, Christophe Lecourtier says.
In a sombre televised address, President Francois Hollande declared a day of national mourning on Thursday - only the fifth in the past 50 years - after the worst attack on French soil in decades.
Twelve people died in an attack by three men on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that has long been in confrontation with Islamists.
Two are brothers who are believed to have returned home from fighting in the Syrian conflict during the past year.
Mr Lecourtier said freedom of the press and freedom of expression were universal values that were very important to the French.
"This is what the terrorists have tried to kill," he told ABC television, acknowledging the business of satire was becoming a dangerous one.
Mr Lecourtier later told journalists at Parliament House in Canberra that authorities hoped to arrest the gunmen in the "coming times" so they could be brought to justice.
"We have already identified who those guys are and we are tracking them," he said.
Share
