John Kerry Pays His Respects to Terrorism Victims In Paris

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry paid his respects to those killed in the recent terrorist attacks in Paris by visiting Paris' City Hall on Friday. 

Kerry spoke fluent French in his address to the Parisian people, describing the terrorist attacks that rocked the city last week as a "living nightmare" and adding that he wanted to "share a hug with the whole of Paris and the whole of France." 

The secretary of state also explained why he wasn't able to attend last weekend's unity march that was attended by several other country leaders, saying he was already scheduled for a diplomatic visit to India and "that's why I couldn't come."

The secretary of state was hastily sent to France to offer his respects after the U.S. admitted to making a mistake by failing to send a high profle representative to attend the unity march in Paris earlier this week, which was attended by top country leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu.

Kerry laid a wreath at the site of the Jewish grocery store where an extremist held hostages and eventually killed five. Kerry also visited with Parisian Mayor Anne Hidalgo at city hall to assert America's solidarity with the European nation.

"I wanted to tell you personally of the horror, the revulsion all Americans felt at the cowardly and despicable attack and assault on innocent victims and fundamental values," Kerry said.

Also on Friday, President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron held a joint news conference in Washington pledging their trans-Atlantic commitment to fighting domestic extremism and ideology.