Support for freedom of expression spread across countries worldwide as hundreds of mostly French-speaking New Yorkers gathered at a rally in Washington Square Park Saturday, holding their pens aloft as a symbol of their solidarity with the victims of the recent attack on a Paris satirical publication, Charlie Hebdo.

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The rally, attended by mostly French-born New Yorkers, was also staged to denounce the deadly attack on the publication that left 12 people dead, mostly journalists and cartoonists, and injured many others.Three of the attackers who were Muslim jihadists were killed by French police in a standoff in a grocery store while their woman companion has yet to be captured.

The demonstrations included a leather-clad female pole dancer gyrating provocatively, which was reflective of the magazine's over-the-top cartoons. The pole dancer negotiated the pole to a live music coming from a grand piano that was hauled into the park and twirled under the sign that read  'Je suis Charlie.'

The demonstrators toughed it out with the below-freezing temperature to get their message across in the wake of threats to the freedom of expression that silenced the magazine's reporters and cartoonists forever in the bloodbath.

'Je suis Charlie', French for 'I am Charlie", has become the global battlecry of journalists and artists since three gunmen attacked the magazine's headquarters in Paris on Wednesday.  

The New York organizers said the rally was staged to show solidarity with the French after three days of violence that have left at least 20 people killed including the gunmen.

A French-born New Yorker was upset about the repercussions that may emerge as a result of the killings, indicating that the freedom of expression being enjoyed by the media may be compromised in the name of security and he didn't want that to happen.

Olivier Souchard explained that the fierce support for freedom of expression  was what drove the Charlie Hebdo's racy images of the prophet Mohammed.

"What we are afraid of is less freedom for more security, it's muzzling," Souchard said.

Charlie Hebdo magazine has been known for racy cartoons depicting religious figures and politicians, which included a naked Muhammad in demeaning and pornographic poses.

In France, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered in several cities, from Toulouse in the south to Rennes in the west.

A massive demonstration is set to happen in Paris on Sunday where leaders and foreign dignitaries from Britain, Germany, NATO and the Arab League are expected to attend.

More than 2,000 policemen were deployed to secure the demonstration amid the heightened alert that has been in place since the attacks.

In China, hundreds of journalists and sympathizers gathered inside a bookstore in Beijing on Thursday in a show of solidarity and support for their fallen colleagues in Paris.

Tags'Je suis Charlie', Paris, Charlie Hebdo