BERLIN, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday denounced the attack on the offices of a French newspaper that left at least 12 people dead as "despicable".
"I was shocked to learn of the despicable attack on the newspaper in Paris," the German leader wrote in a condolence letter to French President Francois Hollande.
"I would like to express to you and your compatriots in the hours of suffering the sympathy of the German people as well as my own sorrow, and convey my condolences to the victims' loved ones," Merkel said.
The chancellor also noted that what has happened Wednesday in Paris "was not only an attack on the life of French citizens and the country's internal security.
It also "represents an attack on a core element of our free and democratic culture - the freedom of expression and of the press -that nothing can justify," she added.
At least 12 people, including two police officers, were killed at noon time on Wednesday in a shooting at the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, a satirical newspaper.
In November 2011, the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo was fire bombed after it put an image of the Prophet Mohammad on its cover.
