Eiffel Tower marchers back more U.S. gun control

PARIS >> Calls for greater gun control in the U.S. came from across the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday as demonstrators near the Eiffel Tower demanded that U.S. politicians “protect children, not guns!”

The protesters in Paris included American and French demonstrators, families and students.

“It’s important for Americans even overseas to make sure that Washington knows that we’re not pleased with the gun control reform and we want more,” said Caitlin Waters, co-organizer of the March For Our Lives Paris gathering.

The march was one of hundreds taking place across the U.S. and the world to urge U.S. lawmakers to pass stricter gun safety legislation after deadly school shootings.

It came as France itself was shaken after four people were killed Friday in an extremist attack. Investigators are trying to determine how the gunman got his weapon, since French gun laws are much stricter than those in the U.S.

Relatives of the victims of a deadly 1996 school shooting in Scotland were among the hundreds protesting Saturday outside the U.S. Consulate in Edinburgh for greater gun control in the U.S.

A letter of support to those affected by the Parkland tragedy was read aloud. Catherine Wilson, who lost her sister Mhairi in the 1996 Dunblane Primary School shootings, was among the speakers.

Sixteen schoolchildren and their teacher were killed in the Dunblane shooting, and the tragedy led the U.K. to enforce strict firearms laws.

Hundreds of people backing tighter U.S. gun controls also rallied outside the U.S. Embassy in London in support of the March for Our Lives movement.