France to remember Charlie Hebdo attacks 10 years on

France is set to mark Tuesday 10 years since an Islamist attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper that shocked the country and led to fierce debate about freedom of expression and religion.

President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo are set to lead commemorations at the site of the weekly’s former offices, which were stormed by two masked al-Qaeda-linked gunmen with AK-47 assault rifles.

Macron and Hidalgo will also remember Ahmed Merabet, a Muslim police officer guarding the offices who was executed at point-blank range as he begged for his life in one of the most shocking images recorded of the tragedy.

Twelve people died in the attacks, including eight editorial staff, while a separate but linked hostage-taking at a Jewish supermarket in eastern Paris by a third gunman on January 9, 2015, claimed another four lives.

The bloodshed signaled the start of a dark period for France during which extremists inspired by Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group repeatedly mounted attacks that set the country on edge and raised religious tensions.