Strasbourg people out in force for memorial

The people of Strasbourg filled a city square for a memorial to the four people shot dead and the dozen wounded by a gunman at their famous Christmas market.

The hour-long ceremony took place yesterday in Kleber Square by the city’s Christmas market, near where the gunman opened fire on Tuesday evening.

More than 1,000 people attended the memorial, which ended with applause and a rendition of France’s national anthem, La Marseillaise.

Strasbourg mayor Roland Ries praised the city’s resilience in the face of hardship. He said: “The presence on Saturday of an extremely large crowd in the Christmas market was an illustration of our commitment to these values on which our living together is based, which we will continue to defend against all those who want to attack it.”

After the attack, French authorities launched a massive manhunt that ended Thursday night when the main suspect, Strasbourg-born Cherif Chekatt, 29, was killed in a shoot-out with police in the city neighbourhood where he grew up.

French authorities are still investigating the attack. The Paris prosecutor’s office said two people close to the attacker were released yesterday “in the absence of incriminating elements at this stage”.

Only one person of the seven detained after the attack was still being held.