Thousands of Kurds, many coming from Germany, rallied in Paris this afternoon over the killing of three top Kurdish activists in the city this week.

The dead included Sakine Cansiz, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which took up arms in 1984 for Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Turkey, who regard it as a terrorist organisation.

Cansiz and two other activists were found dead on Thursday at the Kurdistan Information Centre in the 10th district of Paris.

Each had been shot in the head numerous times.