The French ambassador to the U.S. and members of the French community plan to gather Saturday evening at a park near the White House for a vigil in honor of those who were killed during Friday’s attacks in Paris.
Ambassador Gerard Araud said a vigil would be held at 5 p.m. Saturday at Lafayette Square, a public park located north of the White House.
Since Friday night, members of the public have been leaving flowers outside the French Embassy, located in Georgetown about three miles from the Washington, D.C., park, in a makeshift memorial.
Police in Washington, D.C., have been on heightened alert since the series of shootings and suicide bombs rocked the French capital late Friday, with officers deployed to French-owned sites and other high-profile locations across the city.
U.S. Park Police, who oversee security at Lafayette Square, could not immediately comment on the degree of security that would be in place for the vigil.
The park was renamed in 1824 in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, the French officer whose assistance during the American Revolutionary War was paramount to victory.
Law enforcement are likely to be watchful of the events.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Friday that there is no known credible threat of any similar attacks planned in the U.S., but that out of an abundance of caution federal law enforcement agencies are monitoring the events in Paris and are in contact with local police departments across the U.S.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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