DUSHANBE, January 12, 2015, Asia-Plus – International media sources report that more than three million people have taken part in unity marches across France after 17 people died during three days of deadly attacks in Paris.  Up to 1.6m are reportedly estimated to have taken to the streets of the French capital.  More than 40 world leaders joined the start of the Paris march on January 11, linking arms in an act of solidarity. The marchers wanted to demonstrate unity after the attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, police officers, and a kosher supermarket.  The French government said the rally turnout was the highest on record.

World leaders including Muslim and Jewish statesmen linked arms to lead more than a million French citizens through Paris in an unprecedented march to pay tribute to victims of Islamist militant attacks.

According to Reuters, commentators said the last time crowds of this size filled the streets of the capital was at the Liberation of Paris from Nazi Germany in 1944.

World leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, EU President Donald Tusk, and Jordan''s King Abdullah II joined the beginning of the Paris march, the BBC reports.

“Paris is the capital of the world today,” French leader Francois Hollande said.

The leaders observed a minute''s silence before the march began.

The rally, led by relatives of the victims of last week''s attacks, began at the Place de la Republique and concluded in the Place de la Nation.

About 2,000 police officers and 1,350 soldiers - including elite marksmen on rooftops - were deployed in the capital to protect participants.

Several other French cities also held rallies.  The interior ministry said turnout across France was at least 3.7 million, including up to 1.6 million in Paris - where sheer numbers made an exact tally difficult.

Rallies also took place outside of France, with thousands of people gathering in London, Washington, Montreal and Berlin.

The BBC reports that in Madrid, several hundred Muslims held banners saying "Not in our name" next to the train station where in 2004 Islamist bombings killed nearly 200 people.

Seventeen people, including journalists and police, were killed in three days of violence that began last Wednesday with a shooting attack on the political weekly Charlie Hebdo, known for its satirical attacks on Islam and other religions.