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| Mayor de Blasio Pays His Respects in Paris After Attacks | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| PARIS — The bouquets lay beside the sprawling memorial at the Hyper Cacher grocery store in eastern Paris, labeled simply enough for any guest to understand. | PARIS — The bouquets lay beside the sprawling memorial at the Hyper Cacher grocery store in eastern Paris, labeled simply enough for any guest to understand. |
| “La Maire de Paris,” read one, as residents stopped to appraise the commotion. | “La Maire de Paris,” read one, as residents stopped to appraise the commotion. |
| “Le Maire de New York,” said the other. | “Le Maire de New York,” said the other. |
| And then the very tall visitor emerged from his car. | And then the very tall visitor emerged from his car. |
| “My honor,” Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York said as he greeted local leaders with long handshakes and solemn nods. | |
| It was here, at the kosher supermarket where a gunman killed four hostages less than two weeks ago, that Mr. de Blasio spent the first leg of a daylong expedition to the French capital on Tuesday. The mayor said he traveled to Paris as a show of unity, bearing a message from a city familiar with chilling attacks. | |
| “Both our cities have experienced terror,” he said after a meeting with Jewish leaders. “Both our cities understand what it is to fight back.” | “Both our cities have experienced terror,” he said after a meeting with Jewish leaders. “Both our cities understand what it is to fight back.” |
| Traversing Paris across several hours, before a return flight to New York on Tuesday afternoon, the mayor appeared at turns resolute and awe-struck. He made stops outside the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, the first target of attacks by Islamist militants on Jan. 7, and at the site nearby where a police officer, Ahmed Merabet, was killed. | |
| He strolled through the Place de la République, the site of a mass gathering days after the violence, and held forth on the significance of tolerance and free expression in major metropolitan cities. | He strolled through the Place de la République, the site of a mass gathering days after the violence, and held forth on the significance of tolerance and free expression in major metropolitan cities. |
| The mayor shared a hug and two kisses on the cheek with a Charlie Hebdo journalist. He stumbled gamely through the pronunciation of “solidarité.” He told a Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi that the Hasidic movement’s center was “not far” from where he lived in Brooklyn. | The mayor shared a hug and two kisses on the cheek with a Charlie Hebdo journalist. He stumbled gamely through the pronunciation of “solidarité.” He told a Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi that the Hasidic movement’s center was “not far” from where he lived in Brooklyn. |
| There was also a stop at the Hôtel de Ville, the seat of local government in Paris, a municipal medley of chandeliered, stained-glass opulence, with towering, art-specked ceilings and spectacular views beside the Seine. | There was also a stop at the Hôtel de Ville, the seat of local government in Paris, a municipal medley of chandeliered, stained-glass opulence, with towering, art-specked ceilings and spectacular views beside the Seine. |
| “Not exactly the C.O.W.,” Mr. de Blasio’s press secretary, Phil Walzak, said to a peer, alluding to the far more modest Committee of the Whole meeting room at City Hall in New York. | |
| Mr. de Blasio, a liberal Democrat, toured the space with Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris, the Socialist Party leader with whom he has grown close. Ms. Hidalgo said he was among the first officials to call her to offer support after the recent attacks. The two also met in New York last spring. | |
| A glass apple, a gift from Mr. de Blasio, sat on the desk of her expansive office, which on Tuesday included at least six renderings of the Eiffel Tower. | |
| Mr. de Blasio thanked Ms. Hidalgo for her hospitality, on behalf of his “humble” City Hall. | Mr. de Blasio thanked Ms. Hidalgo for her hospitality, on behalf of his “humble” City Hall. |
| “I didn’t know it was so humble until now,” he said. | “I didn’t know it was so humble until now,” he said. |
| Praising her improving English, Mr. de Blasio presented his counterpart with two more gifts: a scarf (“not that you need to be more stylish,” he said) and the book “Humans of New York” (“to understand the life of our city”). | Praising her improving English, Mr. de Blasio presented his counterpart with two more gifts: a scarf (“not that you need to be more stylish,” he said) and the book “Humans of New York” (“to understand the life of our city”). |
| “It’s important to know the humans,” Ms. Hidalgo said. | “It’s important to know the humans,” Ms. Hidalgo said. |
| “The humans,” Mr. de Blasio repeated. “The grass roots.” | “The humans,” Mr. de Blasio repeated. “The grass roots.” |
| Among Ms. Hidalgo’s gifts to Mr. de Blasio was a book by the cartoonist Jean Cabut, widely known as Cabu, who was killed in the Charlie Hebdo massacre. | |
| In the afternoon, the two held a news conference at the Place de la République, where Mr. de Blasio called Ms. Hidalgo his “sister.” | In the afternoon, the two held a news conference at the Place de la République, where Mr. de Blasio called Ms. Hidalgo his “sister.” |
| Both mayors likened the violence in Paris to the Sept. 11, 2001, attack in New York, while calling for a defense of free speech. | |
| As in Mr. de Blasio’s city, Ms. Hidalgo said, “We won’t live the same way again.” | As in Mr. de Blasio’s city, Ms. Hidalgo said, “We won’t live the same way again.” |
| Indeed, heavy security loomed throughout the city. As armed men stood guard outside a school after Mr. de Blasio’s meeting with Jewish leaders, the mayor said it was “heartening to see the soldiers.” | Indeed, heavy security loomed throughout the city. As armed men stood guard outside a school after Mr. de Blasio’s meeting with Jewish leaders, the mayor said it was “heartening to see the soldiers.” |
| Emerging from behind barricades outside the Charlie Hebdo offices later, Mr. de Blasio expressed astonishment that this “unassuming corner of the world” had become a site of international reckoning. | Emerging from behind barricades outside the Charlie Hebdo offices later, Mr. de Blasio expressed astonishment that this “unassuming corner of the world” had become a site of international reckoning. |
| At the memorial, amid heaps of flowers, pens, pencils and unlit candles, messages had been scrawled on index cards and bits of cardboard, newspaper clippings and, in one case, a transit map. Several included the authors’ home countries — South Africa, Romania, Australia, the Philippines, the United States. | |
| Though many Parisians appeared unfamiliar with Mr. de Blasio, the gesture from New York City’s elected leader resonated for some, particularly given the continued criticism of the Obama administration for having failed to send a top official to the Jan. 11 rally. | |
| Sabrina Deliry, 34, tending to a memorial at the Place de la République on Monday night, likewise recalled the Sept. 11 attack in New York. | |
| “I’m a New Yorker,” she said, retooling a phrase used during the unity rally. Across the square, signs with the better-known saying remained: “Je suis Charlie.” | “I’m a New Yorker,” she said, retooling a phrase used during the unity rally. Across the square, signs with the better-known saying remained: “Je suis Charlie.” |
| Elsewhere on Tuesday, a few Parisians stopped on their bikes to ask about the lanky, unfamiliar man being trailed by cameras. | Elsewhere on Tuesday, a few Parisians stopped on their bikes to ask about the lanky, unfamiliar man being trailed by cameras. |
| In office for a little over a year, Mr. de Blasio has moved quickly to establish international ties. He has alluded often to his “ancestral homeland,” Italy, has held meetings with Italian officials in New York and spent a family vacation in the country last summer. | In office for a little over a year, Mr. de Blasio has moved quickly to establish international ties. He has alluded often to his “ancestral homeland,” Italy, has held meetings with Italian officials in New York and spent a family vacation in the country last summer. |
| In September, he traveled to Manchester, England, to speak at the Labour Party’s annual conference, urging British leaders to embrace his message of the need to address income inequality. | In September, he traveled to Manchester, England, to speak at the Labour Party’s annual conference, urging British leaders to embrace his message of the need to address income inequality. |
| On Tuesday, communication was more complicated at times. At one of his last stops, a visit to a cultural center, Mr. de Blasio greeted attendees from Mauritania, Senegal and the West Indies, hoping to hear their stories. | |
| There was a problem, at least briefly. | There was a problem, at least briefly. |
| “Does anyone speak English?” he asked, looking for a translator. | “Does anyone speak English?” he asked, looking for a translator. |