In an apparent militant Islamist attack, three gunmen killed 12 people, including the editor, several cartoonists, as well as police officers at the office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday.
The attack took place after the magazine tweeted a cartoon featuring ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, with a caption "Meilleurs vœux, au fait" that can be translated as "Best wishes, by the way".
The attackers stormed into the building during the magazine's editorial meeting and started shooting at everybody indiscriminately, killing 12 and leaving at least four critically injured.
People around the world have been paying tributes to the victims of the attack by offering prayers and circulating some powerful cartoons on social media, with the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie, which means "I Am Charlie".
It has to be noted that the controversial magazine, which was labelled 'anti-religious', was firebombed in 2011, after it published a caricature of Prophet Muhammad.
Meanwhile, French President François Hollande has said that the barbaric act will not end the freedom of press.
He tweeted on Wednesday: "Aucun acte barbare ne saura jamais éteindre la liberté de la presse. Nous sommes un pays unis qui saura réagir et faire bloc", which can be translated as "No barbaric act will ever extinguish the freedom of the press. We are a united country that will react and do block."