#JeSuisChien: Twittersphere Mourns French Police Dog Killed in Raid
A top-trending hashtag on Twitter was used to grieve.
The massive French police raid in the suburbs of Paris Wednesday designed to catch the mastermind of Friday's attacks left a pair of terrorist suspects dead. But the fatality trending most on Twitter had four legs, not two: Diesel, a French police Belgian shepherd killed during the raid.
Those mourning the dog used the hashtag #JeSuisChien, a play on the #JeSuisCharlie hashtag popular after last January's massacre at the French satirical magazine (the new one literally translates to #IAmDog.) Below are some of the tweets:
https://twitter.com/bendepear/status/666984627504939008
The massive French police raid in the suburbs of Paris Wednesday designed to catch the mastermind of Friday’s attacks left a pair of terrorist suspects dead. But the fatality trending most on Twitter had four legs, not two: Diesel, a French police Belgian shepherd killed during the raid.
Those mourning the dog used the hashtag #JeSuisChien, a play on the #JeSuisCharlie hashtag popular after last January’s massacre at the French satirical magazine (the new one literally translates to #IAmDog.) Below are some of the tweets:
“Diesel will find a new, entirely nice master.”
Others were more critical of the hashtag:
“This hashtag is abuse. There’s been 129 deaths, I remind you. It’s a dog. #JeSuisChien”
“The internet is great … Every day innocents are killed … And people cry for a dog.”
Photo credit: Police Nationale via Twitter
More from Foreign Policy

What Putin Got Right
The Russian president got many things wrong about invading Ukraine—but not everything.

Russia Has Already Lost in the Long Run
Even if Moscow holds onto territory, the war has wrecked its future.

China’s Belt and Road to Nowhere
Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy is a “shadow of its former self.”

The U.S. Overreacted to the Chinese Spy Balloon. That Scares Me.
So unused to being challenged, the United States has become so filled with anxiety over China that sober responses are becoming nearly impossible.