Bach sends letter of solidarity to Hollande; Olympic world stands ‘side by side’ with France

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French soldiers patrols at the Gare du Nord railway station, in Paris, France, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Scattered gunfire and explosions shook France on Thursday as its frightened yet defiant citizens held a day of mourning for 12 people slain at a Paris newspaper. French police hunted down the two heavily armed brothers suspected in the massacre to make sure they don\'t strike again. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — IOC President Thomas Bach has expressed his solidarity with the French people following the “barbaric” attack on a French newspaper that left 12 people dead.

Bach sent a letter to French President Francois Hollande expressing “shock and grief” over Wednesday’s shooting at the Paris offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.

Bach says “such barbaric acts are an attack on the values of all civilized people from whatever country, religion or creed.”

The letter says: “This was a shocking, brutal attack not just on France but on the values for which we all stand, and the values on which the Olympic Movement is also built.”

Bach adds that “we in the Olympic Movement stand side by side with you and with France in solidarity.”

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