A pianist who captured the hearts of millions by performing John Lennon’s Imagine outside the Paris theatre where at least 89 people were killed has returned to the capital for another impromptu set.

French security forces struck back on two fronts last night following Friday’s terror attacks in Paris, launching a bombing campaign against Islamic State in Syria, as a manhunt got under way for a man suspected of being on the run after the attacks.

French officials have identified one of the Paris terror attackers as seven people were detained in Belgium linked to the atrocities.

Paris was under siege and France was shutting its borders last night after a series of explosions and deadly shootings claimed the lives of up to 60 people, causing mayhem and panic throughout the French capital.

Security authorities are monitoring reports that Ireland is being used as a training ground for jihadists, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said, as he was among 50 world leaders and senior figures leading a demonstration in Paris following the killing of 17 people last week.

The world outpouring of sympathy after the deadly Charlie Hebdo attack has touched many in France but some either detect a note of hypocrisy or feel squeamish about supporting a satirical weekly that antagonised many.

Long after the last of the marchers left, people came, silent as mourners, to relight the candles flickering on the pedestal of liberty on the Place de la République.

FRENCH media estimate up to 3m took part in the Paris rally for unity against terrorism — more than the numbers who took to the capital’s streets when the Allies liberated the city from the Nazis in the Second World War.

When adherents of a faith insist on privileged status for them and them alone, like the Pope in 1870 and some followers of Islam today, it is more than problematic, writes TP O’Mahony

World leaders have joined tens of thousands of people in a giant rally of national unity to honour the 17 victims of the Paris terror attacks.

A minute's silence has been observed across France and around the world in solidarity with those affected by the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

Police were hunting a lone gunman on the loose in Paris yesterday after he opened fire with a shotgun at the offices of a left-wing newspaper and a major bank before hijacking a car to take him to the Champs-Elysees avenue.

The French government today moved to cut short Senate debate on its controversial bid to raise the retirement age as unions vowed to keep up the campaign which has hit petrol supplies and brought thousands onto the streets.

MASKED youths clashed with police and set fires in cities across France yesterday as protests against a proposed hike in the retirement age took an increasingly radical turn. Hundreds of flights were cancelled, long lines formed at petrol stations and train service in many regions was cut in half.

France’s retirement protest strikes turned violent today as youths clashed with riot police in cities across the country.

Diesel and jet fuel supplies were running low today in parts of France as the country braced itself for another nationwide protest against government plans to raise the retirement age.

A new wave of nationwide strikes by French workers demanding President Nicolas Sarkozy do more to fight the economic crisis hit the country today.

Thousands of striking taxi drivers drove at a snail's pace around France today as part of a protest against government plans to open up their business to greater competition.

Thousands of striking taxi drivers drove at a snail’s pace around France today as part of a protest against government plans to open up their business to greater competition.

More than 200,000 protesters poured onto France’s streets and striking workers crippled transport services today in a mass effort to pressure embattled Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin to withdraw a contested new jobs contract for youths.

FRENCH President Jacques Chirac yesterday promised arrests, trials and punishment for those sowing “violence or fear” across the country.

French President Jacques Chirac called a security meeting of his top ministers tonight after urban rioting spread – with arsonists striking from the Mediterranean to the German border and into central Paris for the first time.

FREED French journalist Florence Aubenas, looking thinner but radiant after five months as a captive in Iraq, arrived home to a joyful welcome last night and told of being held in a cellar, tied, blindfolded and given little water.

After winning a landslide victory in France, conservative President Jacques Chirac now faces the challenge of winning over the electorate that banded together to support him over his far-right opponent.

Fifteen thousand people have been marching through Paris against planned mass job cuts by companies including Marks & Spencer.