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Members of Parliament stand in Westminster Hall, London, holding pens in solidarity with those affected by the Charlie Hebdo massacre in France, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. French police hunted Thursday for two heavily armed men one with a terrorism conviction and a history in jihadi networks in the methodical killing of 12 people at a satirical newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad. (AP Photo/PA,Tim Sculthorpe)(The Associated Press)

The words "I am Charlie" are spelled out with candles at a gathering in solidarity with those killed in an attack at the Paris offices of the weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015, outside the French Consulate in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)(The Associated Press)

A tribute to the people killed at Paris offices of weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo, is fixed to the wall outside the French Embassy in London, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Masked gunmen stormed the Paris offices of a weekly newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, methodically killing 12 people at the offices of the Charlie Hebdo, Wednesday, including the editor, before escaping in a car. It was France's deadliest postwar terrorist attack.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)(The Associated Press)

British police officers stand in the rain to hold a two minute silence to show their respect for all those murdered in Wednesday's terrorist attack in Paris, including two police officers, at New Scotland Yard in London, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Masked gunmen stormed the Paris offices of a weekly newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, methodically killing 12 people Wednesday, including the editor, before escaping in a car. It was France's deadliest postwar terrorist attack. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)(The Associated Press)

Regis Denon, of Paris, France, holds a sign in remembrance at a gathering in solidarity with those killed in an attack at the Paris offices of the weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015, outside of the French Consulate in San Francisco. A handful of participants in the Wednesday night vigil in San Francisco's financial district are lighting candles that spell out "Je Suis Charlie," while others deposit bouquets of white carnations and red roses or leave pens by the consulate's door. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)(The Associated Press)

LONDON From Berlin to Bangkok, tens of thousands took a stand Thursday against living in fear, as rallies defended the freedom of expression and honored the victims of a Paris newspaper attack.

Viewing the Paris attack as a cold-blooded assault on democracy, people from all walks of life journalists and police officers, politicians and students turned out in cities around the world, holding up pens and joining hands.

Many held placards proclaiming "Je Suis Charlie" "I am Charlie" a slogan that went viral on social media within hours of Wednesday's terror attack on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.

Germany's biggest-selling daily, Bild, filled the top half of its front page with the headline "Cowardly Murderers!" and printed a black back page with the words "Je suis Charlie."

"The only thing we can do against this is to live fearlessly," editor-in-chief Kai Diekmann said in an editorial. "Our colleagues in Paris have paid the ultimate price for freedom. We bow before them."

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Defending democracy: 'I Am Charlie' protesters rally globally to support right to free speech