France reflects one year after deadly Charlie Hebdo attack

France has held the first of several ceremonies marking one year since the attack at the offices of Charlie Hebdo and three days of mayhem in Paris which left 17 people dead.

President François Hollande and the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, laid wreaths at the offices of the satirical magazine on Tuesday.

Nearly a year after the attack, journalist Zineb El Rhazoui still lives under 24-hour guard, with fanatics determined to kill her.

She was out of Paris at the time of the attack on January 7, possibly the only reason she is still alive while eight of her colleagues are dead.

Speaking to ITV News during a secret meeting at a Paris hotel, she said a "religious justification" was given for Muslims to kill her.

Ms El Rhazoui said: "What are the different methods to execute me? If you don't have a bullet or a bomb you can just isolate me, break my head with big stones, cut my throat, burn me or at least burn my house."

Charlie Hebdo's anniversary edition hits the stands tomorrow with the headline "The assassin still on the run", alongside a portrayal of a generic picture of God.

Gunmen filmed in the street during the Charlie Hebdo attack.

Ms El Rhazoui, who was brought up as a Muslim but is now an atheist, criticised President Hollande for saying those who carried out the Charlie Hebdo attack "were not Muslims".

"How can you say that François Hollande?," she said. "Why are you saying that?

"They identified themselves as Muslims, they made it in the name of Islam.

"Who is François Hollande to decide if they are Muslims or they are not?"

As the anniversary approaches, the Place de la République remains a shrine to the victims of terrorism following the deadly attacks of November 13, 2015, a sign of how appalling a year France has had.

The country is under a state of emergency and is involved in ongoing military action in Syria.