Le Monde published a front-page article after the attacks on the World Trade Center, by the editor-in-chief Jean-Marie Colombani, entitled "Nous sommes tous américains." I've tried to find a photo of the headline saying that, but haven't been able to.
Here is a translation. (The Google listing for this said "Jean-Marie Colombani, of Paris' Le Monde, records her reaction to hearing about the terrorist attacks on the United States.")
I was in London when the attacks happened. A cleaner speaking Spanglish told me, "You didn't hear? The World Trade Center, it's gone!" I sat in front of the television for hours, feeling colder and colder, as my legs began trembling despite myself.
The outpouring of sympathy was overwhelming and touching. One of the London newspapers printed a huge U.S. flag on half the page, and suggested people put it in their windows to show compassion. You saw this flag everywhere, in truck drivers' windshields, in store displays, in the windows of private houses. Two of my family members went to the memorial service at Saint Paul's Cathedral and reported that they couldn't even get within blocks of the cathedral for the crowds. All the embassies, including those of Islamic countries, set their flags at half-mast. I heard from all my friends abroad, asking if my family and friends were all right.
It was a human tragedy, and everyone can identify with those ordinary people who went to work on an ordinary day, only to find themselves caught up in world politics.
