Nov. 18--Hundreds of people gathered Tuesday night bearing candles to remember the victims of the recent attacks that devastated Paris at a somber vigil held on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall.
The crowd shared a moment of silence outside the tiered building, which was bathed in the red, blue and white of the French flag, before joining together to sing the French national anthem.
"Today and always we lock arms with those who have been affected by these unspeakable tragedies. Today there is a single human family," Mayor Eric Garcetti told the crowd.
"Those who sought to divide have only united us -- united us first in grief, but also in our resolve to continue living the lives of possibility and freedom that God gives us," Garcetti said.
The Consul General of France in Los Angeles, Christophe Lemoine, said he was grateful for the outpouring of sympathy for France in the wake of the deadly rampage, which killed at least 129 people and wounded hundreds.
"I know -- and you are the proof of this tonight -- that it's always in adversity that we feel good to be gathered with friends," Lemoine said.
Among those who gathered for the vigil was Bernadette Colomine, a voice over producer who has lived in Silver Lake for decades. Colomine, a citizen of both the United States and France, said she had been on Facebook constantly in the aftermath of the attacks, making sure family and friends in France were safe. Friends of her friends were killed.
"The flow of emotions are constant," Colomine said. Sometimes she has felt catatonic, she said, sometimes overwhelmed with tears.
"It feels good to be surrounded by other human beings who feel that life is what we have," Colomine said, gazing around the crowd. "It's all we have."
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