'Up to 20,000 in Copenhagen vigil for Paris attack victims'

Copenhagen; Up to 20,000 people, among them Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, gathered for a candlelight vigil at the gates of the French embassy in Copenhagen today to mourn the victims of the Paris attacks, police said.

Denmark too has suffered attacks by radical Islamists.

On February 14, extremists killed a Danish filmmaker outside a cultural centre where a debate on Islam and free speech was taking place.
Hours later a Jewish man was killed at a synagogue, as a bar mitzvah was being celebrated outside.

"Police estimate that some 15,000 to 20,000 people took part in the ceremony," a police spokesman told Danish press agency Ritzau.

The mourners, some of them dressed in the French blue, white and red colours, held a minute of silence.

"What is the strongest response we can have? To keep on living, and to refuse to be intimidated.

If we no longer dare to sit at a cafe terrace, then we have lost. We insist on (defending) democracy and the joy of living," said Rasmussen, visibly moved.
France's ambassador to Copenhagen, Francois Zimeray, was also there.

"For us it is a strong sign of the Danish people's solidarity with France. They are fighting the same battle ... they are fighting for the same values," he said.

The vigil, which was convened by the youth wings of all the country's main political parties, is the second in as many days in the Danish capital.

Hundreds of Danes yesterday, including French-born Prince Consort Henrik, gathered to lay flowers at the entrance of the French embassy.