Hundreds Gather in Century City to Mourn Paris Terror Victims

About 200 people gathered today at the French Consulate in Los Angeles to mourn the victims of Friday’s deadly terrorist attacks in Paris.

The subdued crowd congregated outside the consulate on the corner of Santa Monica and Beverly Glen boulevards, depositing flowers, candles and signs on the sidewalk.

An impromptu, softly sung version of the French national anthem filtered the air at one point.

Among the attendees were Burbank residents Robert Thorpe and his wife, Corinne, a French native who has lived in the United States for 13 years.

They were there “to show support for France, just like they did after Sept. 11th, what they did for us to show solidarity,” Robert Thorpe said.

Corinne Thorpe said disbelief was her first reaction when she heard reports of the massacres that killed at least 129 people and wounded more than 350 others.

”(It was) shock,” said Thorpe, who learned today that family members in France were safe. “I could not believe it happened.”

Robert Thorpe, who spent 14 years in the U.S. Navy, had a different reaction.

“For me, (it was) anger,” he said.

City News Service