Thousands rally to honour teacher killed in France terrorist attack

'You will not divide us. We are France', Prime Minister Jean Castex tells terrorists

People gather on Place de la Republique in Paris in homage to history teacher Samuel Paty two days after he was beheaded by an attacker who was shot dead by policemen. AFP

The murder has shocked France and politicians of all stripes attended the Paris rally. AFP

In Bordeaux, people gather on Place de la Bourse. AFP

A person holds a placard reading 'I am a teacher' as people gather on Place de la Bourse. AFP

Flags at city hall are at half-mast as people gather in Place du Capitole in Toulouse. AFP

People hold placards reading 'Islam = peace' and 'Muslims against terrorism' as they gather in Strasbourg. AFP

Samuel Paty, was killed in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. Reuters

People stand near flowers and placards reading 'I am Samuel' and 'Don't touch my teacher' at a rally in Strasbourg. AFP

A person wears a prtotective face mask with an inscription reading 'I am Samuel'. AFP

History teacher Samuel Paty was killed on Friday. AFP

People gather at the Place de la Republique in Paris. Reuters

A woman holds a placard reading 'History course for eveyone' and a man holds a French flag on Place de la Republique in Paris. AFP

Thousands of people gathered across France on Sunday to support teachers and defend freedom of expression after the killing of Samuel Paty, who was killed by a suspected terrorist.

Mr Paty had been threatened after giving a lesson two weeks ago in which he showed pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed to illustrate the idea of free speech.

Prime Minister Jean Castex attended the gathering on Place de La Republique in Paris along with Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer and politicians from across the spectrum, showing solidarity after a killing that has shocked the country.

In Lyon, Marseille and Lille, large crowds also gathered quietly, pausing regularly to applaud, hold minutes of silence or sing the national anthem.

"You don't scare us. We are not afraid. You will not divide us. We are France," Mr Castex tweeted later.

It was the latest attack in a deadly cycle of extremist attacks in France, that included:

September 25, 2020 - Two people are stabbed and wounded in Paris near the former offices of the Charlie Hebdo  satirical magazine, where terrorists carried out a deadly attack in 2015. A man originally from Pakistan is arrested over the attack.

October 3, 2019 - Mickael Harpon, 45, an IT specialist with security clearance to work in the Paris police headquarters, kills three police officers and a civilian employee before being shot dead by police.

March 23, 2018 - A gunman kills three people in south-western France after holding up a car, firing on police and taking hostages in a supermarket, yelling "Allahu akbar". Security forces storm the building and kill him.

July 26, 2016 - Two attackers kill a priest and seriously wound another hostage in a church in northern France before being shot dead by French police. Francois Hollande, then France's president, says the two had pledged allegiance to ISIS.

July 14, 2016 - A gunman drives a heavy truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing 86 people and injuring scores more in an attack claimed by ISIS. The attacker is identified as a Tunisian-born Frenchman.

June 14, 2016 - A Frenchman of Moroccan origin stabs a police commander to death outside his home in a Paris suburb and kills his partner, who also worked for the police. The attacker tells police negotiators during a siege that he is answering an appeal by ISIS.

November 13, 2015 - Paris is rocked by near simultaneous gun-and-bomb attacks on entertainment sites around the city, in which 130 people are killed and 368 are wounded. ISIS says it was responsible for the attacks. Two of the 10 known perpetrators were Belgian citizens and three others were French.

January 7-9, 2015 - Two terrorists break into an editorial meeting of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo  on January 7 and rake it with bullets, killing 12 people. Another militant kills a policewoman the next day and takes hostages at a supermarket on January 9, killing four before police shot him dead.