PARIS
The Eiffel Tower switched off its lights Thursday at 8 p.m. local time (1900GMT) as a tribute to the victims of the attack at the Parisian offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
The lights on the 324-meter iconic Eiffel Tower went dark in memory of the 12 people shot and killed Wednesday.
Meanwhile, thousands gathered for the second straight night on the other side of the city, at Place de La Republique, answering the call to rally by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo.
"Our city has been a refuge for writers, philosophers, journalists who were threatened for their ideas," Hidalgo told French daily Liberation. "There is no place in Paris for extremist ideas of any sort."
On Wednesday, thousands of people gathered similarly holding up pens and press cards in a symbolic act to defend freedom of press and of expression
A number of other rallies were organized across France in such cities as Angers, Bordeaux, Lyon and Strasbourg.
Political cartoonists from around the world reacted on Twitter by publishing cartoons dedicated to the victims of the attack.
A campaign was launched on Twitter with the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie, or "I am Charlie," to show solidarity with the victims and support for the satirical weekly.
According to social media analytics website Topsy, the hashtag has been tweeted more than 130,000 times Wednesday.
Among the dead were satirical journalists and cartoonists regarded as legendary across France -- editor Stephanie "Charb" Charbonnier, Bernard "Tignou" Verlhac, Jean Cabu and George Wolinski.
Renowned economist and writer Bernard Maris was also killed.
The journalists were attacked in the middle of an editorial meeting.
