Irish NUJ Secretary, Séamus Dooley, was in Paris on 11th January to commemorate the workers murdered in the Charlie Hebdo attack four days earlier.

As we returned to Place de la République before the magnificent rally the young taxi driver, looking at our array of curious flags and banners smiled and asked "Are you here for Charlie?".

We replied in the affirmative and he patiently navigated his way through traffic diversions as Michelle Stanistreet and myself explained that we had just laid an NUJ flag at the office of Charlie Hebdo.

On arrival at our hotel the young driver declined to accept the fare:”You came here for the manifestation. Thank you".

This was the spirit of Paris, the spirit of liberty which brought more than 4 million people on to the streets of cities across the country echoing across the republic:  Je Suis Charlie.

It was a spirit adequately conveyed by coverage in the print and broadcast media, which focused on the admittedly newsworthy attendance of a dazzling array of world leaders, including acknowledged oppressors of press freedom and human rights offenders.

The litany of shame included the prime minister of Turkey, the King of Jordan, the Tunisian prime minister, representatives from Hungary, Russia and Egypt, the Algerian ambassador, the prime minister of Israel, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to France – a country whose parlous record on press freedom was so amply demonstrated a week earlier by the flogging of a blogger imprisoned for "insulting Islam".

Those gathered along Boulevard Voltaire and all along the winding route to Nation witnessed a march led by the dignified families of those brutally gunned down just a few days earlier, followed by representatives of the French and global media unions.  The international celebrities and despots were a distraction from the people’s march.

Silence was the only response as the families, men, women and children thrown into the spotlight of history, embraced and shared tears of loss.

NUJ president Andy Smith, Michelle Stanistreet, as General Secretary, and myself deeply appreciated the invitation to walk with the French media unions behind the families at this trade union organised rally.  France is probably the only country in Europe where international dignitaries would be required to walk behind the trade unions.

 As the march began Ricardo Gutiérrez, Deputy General Secretary of the IFJ declared in a spontaneous gesture declared "carte press" and we raised our cards to the cry of "Charlie" from men, women and children gathered on balconies along the route.

Last year 118 journalists were killed across the globe.

 Over the past ten years 1,000 media workers have been killed, murders all too often treated with impunity by governments who facilitate and sustain a political environment where journalists and journalism are threatened and targeted without justice.

In marking the Paris murders we must never forget that freedom of expression is threatened not just from one source but from many, including some of those who shed crocodile tears in Paris.