Charlie Hebdo (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁli
ɛbdo];
French for Charlie Weekly)
is a French satirical weekly magazine,[2] featuring cartoons,[3] reports, polemics,
and jokes. Irreverent and stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication
describes itself as above allsecular and atheist,[4] far-left-wing,[5][6] and anti-racist[7] publishing articles
about the extreme right (especially the French nationalistNational
Front party),[8] religion (Catholicism, Islam, Judaism), politics and culture.
The magazine has been
the target of two terrorist attacks, in 2011 and 2015. Both were presumed to be
in response to a number of controversial Muhammad cartoons it published. In the second of these attacks, 12 people
were killed, including publishing directorCharb and several other prominent
cartoonists.
Charlie Hebdo first appeared in
1970 as a companion to the monthly Hara-Kiri magazine, after a previous title was
banned for mocking the death of former French President Charles de Gaulle.[9] In 1981 publication
ceased, but the magazine was resurrected in 1992. Its current editor-in-chief is Gérard
Biard. The previous editors were François
Cavanna (1970–1981) and Philippe Val (1992–2009). The magazine is published
every Wednesday, with special editions issued on an unscheduled basis.
Origins in Hara-Kiri[edit]
François
Cavanna (1923–2014),
one of the founders of the first Charlie Hebdo title
In 1960, Georges "Professeur
Choron" Bernier and François Cavanna launched a monthly magazine
entitled Hara-Kiri.[10]Choron acted as the director of
publication and Cavanna as its editor. Eventually Cavanna gathered together a
team which included Roland Topor, Fred, Jean-Marc Reiser, Georges Wolinski, Gébé (fr), and Cabu. After an early reader's letter
accused them of being "dumb and nasty" ("bête et méchant"),
the phrase became an official slogan for the magazine and made it into everyday
language in France.
Hara-Kiri was briefly banned in 1961, and
again for six months in 1966. A few contributors did not return along with the
newspaper, such as Gébé, Cabu, Topor, and Fred. New members of the team
included Delfeil de Ton (fr), Pierre Fournier
(journaliste) (fr), and Willem.
In 1969, the Hara-Kiri team decided to produce a weekly
publication – on top of the existing monthly magazine – which would focus more
on current affairs. This was launched in February as Hara-Kiri
Hebdo and
renamed L'Hebdo Hara-Kiri in May of the same year.[11] (Hebdo is short for hebdomadaire – "weekly")
In November 1970, the former French president Charles
de Gaulle died in
his home village of Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, eight days after a disaster in
a nightclub, the Club Cinq-Sept fire, which caused the death of 146
people. The magazine released a cover spoofing the popular press's coverage of
this disaster, headlined "Tragic Ball at Colombey, one dead."[10] As a result, the weekly was
banned.
In order to sidestep the ban, the editorial team
decided to change its title, and used Charlie Hebdo.[1] The new name was derived from a
monthly comics magazine called Charlie(later renamed Charlie Mensuel, meaning Charlie Monthly), which had been started by
Bernier and Delfeil de Ton in 1969. The monthly Charlie took its name from the lead
character of one of the comics it originally published, Peanuts's Charlie Brown. Using that title for the new
weekly magazine was also an inside joke about Charles de Gaulle.[12][13][14] The first issue did feature a Peanuts strip, as the editors were fans
of the series.[15]
In December 1981, publication ceased.[16]
Rebirth[edit]
In 1991, Gébé, Cabu and others were reunited to
work for La Grosse Bertha, a new weekly magazine
resembling Charlie Hebdo created in reaction to the First
Gulf War and
edited by singer and comedian Philippe Val. However, the following year, Val clashed with the
publisher, who wanted apolitical humour, and was fired. Gébé and Cabu walked
out with him and decided to launch their own paper again. The three called upon
Cavanna, Delfeil de Ton and Wolinski, requesting their help and input. After
much searching for a new name, the obvious idea of resurrecting Charlie Hebdo was agreed on. The new magazine
was owned by Val, Gébé, Cabu and singer Renaud. Val was editor, Gébé
publication director.
The publication of the new Charlie Hebdo began in July 1992 amidst much
publicity. The first issue under the new publication sold 100,000 copies.
Choron, who had fallen out with his former colleagues, tried to restart a
weekly Hara-Kiri, but its publication was short-lived. Choron died
in January 2005.
On 26 April 1996, François Cavanna, Charb and Philippe Val filed 173,704
signatures, obtained in eight months, with the aim of banning the political party Front
National, since
it would have contravened the articles 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7 of the Declaration
of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.[17]
In 2000, journalist Mona Chollet was sacked after
she had protested against a Philippe Val article which called Palestinians "non-civilized".[18] In 2004, following the death of
Gébé, Val succeeded him as director of publication, while still holding his
position as editor.[19]
In 2008, controversy broke over a column by veteran
cartoonist Siné which led to accusations of antisemitism and Siné's
sacking by Val. Siné successfully sued the newspaper for unfair dismissal and Charlie Hebdo was ordered to pay him €90,000 in
damages.[20] Siné launched a rival paper
called Siné Hebdo (fr) which later became Siné
Mensuel (fr).Charlie Hebdo launched its Internet site, after
years of reluctance from Val.[citation needed] In 2009, Philippe Val resigned
after being appointed director of France Inter, a public radio station to which
he has contributed since the early 1990s. His functions were split between two
cartoonists, Charb and Riss. Val gave away his shares in 2011. As of March
2011, Charlie
Hebdo was owned by Charb (600 shares), Riss (599 shares),
finance director Éric Portheault (299 shares), and Cabu and Bernard Maris with
one share each.[21]
Gérard Biard is the editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo.[22]
On 5 May 2015 Charlie Hebdo was awarded the
PEN/Toni and James C. Goodale Freedom of Expression Courage Award at the PEN
American Center Literary
Gala in New York City.[23]
Legal issues[edit]
Mosque of Paris v Val (2007)[edit]
In 2007 the Grand Mosque of Paris began criminal proceedings
against the chief-editor of Charlie Hebdo, Philipe Val, under France's hate speech laws for publicly abusing a group on
the ground of their religion. The lawsuit was limited to three specific
cartoons, including one depicting Muhammad carrying a bomb in his turban. In
March 2007 le tribunal de Paris acquitted Val, finding that it
was fundamentalists, rather than Muslims, who were being ridiculed in the
cartoons.[24]
Siné sacking (2008)[edit]
On 2 July 2008, a column by the cartoonist Siné (Maurice Sinet) appeared in Charlie Hebdo citing a rumour that Jean
Sarkozy, son of Nicolas
Sarkozy, had
announced his intention to convert to Judaism before marrying his fiancée, a
Jewish heiress Jessica Sebaoun-Darty. Siné added, "he'll go far, this lad!"[25] This led to complaints of
anti-Semitism. The magazine's editor, Philippe Val, ordered Siné to write a letter
of apology or face termination. The cartoonist said he would rather "cut
his own balls off," and was promptly fired. Both sides subsequently filed
lawsuits, and in December 2010, Siné won a 40,000 euros court judgment against
his former publisher for wrongful termination.[26]
Muhammad cartoons and aftermath[edit]
Muslims march in Paris on 11
February 2006 against the publication of caricatures of Muhammad. A sign with
"Charlie Hebdo" circled and crossed-out is held aloft in the
picture's upper middle.
Image of 3 November 2011 cover ofCharlie
Hebdo, renamed Charia Hebdo("Sharia Hebdo"). The word
balloon reads
"100 lashes if you don't die of laughter!"
2006 Publication[edit]
Controversy arose over the publication's edition of
9 February 2006. Under the title "Mahomet débordé par les intégristes"
("Muhammad overwhelmed by fundamentalists"), the front page showed a
cartoon of a weeping Muhammad saying "C'est dur d'être aimé par des cons"
("it's hard being loved by jerks"). The newspaper reprinted the
twelve cartoons of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons
controversy and added
some of their own. Compared to a regular circulation of 100,000 sold copies,
this edition enjoyed great commercial success. 160,000 copies were sold and
another 150,000 were in print later that day.
In response, French President Jacques
Chirac condemned
"overt provocations" which could inflame passions. "Anything
that can hurt the convictions of someone else, in particular religious
convictions, should be avoided", Chirac said. The Grand
Mosque of Paris, the Muslim
World League and the Union
of French Islamic Organisations (UOIF) sued, claiming the cartoon edition included
racist cartoons.[27] A later edition contained a
statement by a group of twelve writers warning againstIslamism.[28]
The suit by the Grand Mosque and the UOIF reached
the courts in February 2007. Publisher Philippe Val contended "It is racist to
imagine that they can't understand a joke," but Francis Szpiner, the
lawyer for the Grand Mosque, explained the suit: "Two of those caricatures
make a link between Muslims and Muslim terrorists. That has a name and it's called
racism."[29]
Future president Nicolas Sarkozy sent a letter to be read in court
expressing his support for the ancient French tradition of satire.[30]François
Bayrou and
future president François Hollande also expressed their support for freedom
of expression. The French
Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) criticized the expression of these
sentiments, claiming that they were politicizing a court case.[31]
On 22 March 2007, executive editor Val was
acquitted by the court.[32] The court followed the state
attorney's reasoning that two of the three cartoons were not an attack on
Islam, but on Muslim terrorists, and that the third cartoon with Muhammad with
a bomb in his turban should be seen in the context of the magazine in question,
which attacked religious fundamentalism.[33]
Debris outside the paper's
offices following the November 2011 attack
November 2011 Firebombing[edit]
In November 2011 the newspaper's office in the 20th
arrondissement[34][35] was fire-bombed and its website
hacked. The attacks were presumed to be linked to its decision to rename the
edition of 3 November 2011 "Charia Hebdo", with Muhammad listed as
the "editor-in-chief".[36]The cover, featuring a cartoon of
Muhammad saying: "100 lashes of the whip if you don't die laughing"
by Luz (Rénald
Luzier), had circulated on social media for a couple of days.
The "Charia Hebdo" issue had been a
response to recent news of the post-election introduction of sharia law in
Libya and the victory of the Islamist party in Tunisia.[37] It especially focuses on
oppression of women under sharia, taking aim at domestic violence, mandatory
veiling, burquas, restrictions on freedom, forced marriage, and stoning of
those accused of adultery. It also targeted oppression of gays and dissenters,
and practices such as stoning, flogging, hand/foot/tongue amputations,
polygamy, forced marriage, and early indoctrination of children. "Guest
editor" Muhammad is portrayed as a good-humored voice of reason, decrying
the recent elections and calling for a separation between politics and
religion, while stating that Islam is compatible with humor.[38] The magazine responded to the
bombing by distributing some four times the usual number of copies.[39]
Charb was quoted by Associated Press stating that the attack might
have been carried out by "stupid people who don't know what Islam is"
and that they are "idiots who betray their own religion". Mohammed
Moussaoui, head of
the French Council of the Muslim Faith, said his organisation deplores "the very
mocking tone of the paper toward Islam and its prophet but reaffirms with force
its total opposition to all acts and all forms of violence."[40] François
Fillon, the
prime minister, and Claude Guéant, the interior minister, voiced support for Charlie Hebdo,[35] as did feminist writer Ayaan
Hirsi Ali, who
criticised calls for self-censorship.[41]
2012 Muhammad Cartoons[edit]
In September 2012, the newspaper published a series
of satirical cartoons of Muhammad, some of which featured nude caricatures of
him.[42][43] Given that this issue came days
after a series of attacks on US embassies in the Middle East, purportedly
in response to the anti-Islamic film Innocence of Muslims, the French
government decided
to increase security at certain French embassies, as well as to close the
French embassies, consulates, cultural centres, and international schools in
about 20 Muslim countries.[44] In addition, riot
police surrounded
the offices of the magazine to protect it against possible attacks.[43][45][46]
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius criticised the magazine's
decision, saying, "In France, there is a principle of freedom of
expression, which should not be undermined. In the present context, given this
absurd video that has been aired, strong emotions have been awakened in many
Muslim countries. Is it really sensible or intelligent to pour oil on the
fire?"[47] The US White House said "a
French magazine published cartoons featuring a figure resembling the Prophet
Muhammad, and obviously, we have questions about the judgment of publishing
something like this."[48] However, the newspaper's editor
defended publication of the cartoons, saying, "We do caricatures of
everyone, and above all every week, and when we do it with the Prophet, it's
called provocation."[49][50]
2015 attack[edit]
Journalists, policemen, and
emergency services in the street of the shooting, a few hours after the January
2015 attack
The Je suis Charlie ("I am Charlie") slogan
became an endorsement of freedom of speech and press.
Indian journalists expressed
solidarity with the victims of attack at New Delhi on 9 January 2015. Displayed
cartoon by Shekhar Gurera
Main
article: Charlie Hebdo shooting
On 7 January 2015, two Islamist gunmen[51] forced their way into the Paris
headquarters of Charlie Hebdo and opened fire, killing twelve:
staff cartoonists Charb, Cabu, Honoré, Tignous and Wolinski,[52] economist Bernard
Maris, editors Elsa
Cayat and Mustapha
Ourrad, guest
Michel Renaud, maintenance worker Frédéric Boisseau and police officers
Brinsolaro and Merabet, and wounding eleven, four of them seriously.[53][54][55][56][57][58]
During the attack, the gunmen shouted "Allahu
akbar"
("God is great" in Arabic) and also "the Prophet is avenged".[51][59] PresidentFrançois
Hollande described
it as a "terrorist attack of the most extreme barbarity".[60] The two gunmen were identified as Saïd
Kouachiand Chérif
Kouachi, French
Muslim brothers of Algerian descent.[61][62][63][64][65]
The "survivors' issue"[edit]
Main
article: Charlie Hebdo issue No. 1178
The day after the attack, the remaining staff of Charlie Hebdo announced that publication would
continue, with the following week's edition of the newspaper to be published
according to the usual schedule with a print run of one million copies, up
significantly from its usual 60,000.[66][67] On 13 January 2015, the news came
on BBC that the first issue after the massacre will come out in three million
copies.[68]On Wednesday itself it was announced that with a
huge demand in France, the print run would be raised from three to five million
copies.[69] The newspaper announced the
revenue from the issue would go towards the families of the victims.[70]
The French government granted nearly €1 million to support the
magazine.[71] The Digital Innovation Press
Fund (French: Fonds Google–AIPG pour
l’Innovation Numérique de la presse), partially funded by Google, donated €250,000,[72] matching a donation by the French
Press and Pluralism Fund.[73] The Guardian Media Group pledged a donation of £100,000.[74]
Je suis Charlie[edit]
Main
article: Je suis Charlie
The front cover of edition
of 14 January 2015, with a
cartoon in the same style as 3 November 2011 cover, uses the phrase "Je
Suis Charlie". (Headline translation: "All is forgiven.") [75]
After the attacks, the phrase Je suis
Charlie, French
for "I am Charlie", was adopted by supporters of free
speech and
freedom of expression who were reacting to the shootings. The phrase identifies
a speaker or supporter of those who were killed at the Charlie Hebdo shooting, and by extension, a
supporter of freedom of speech and resistance to armed threats. Some
journalists embraced the expression as a rallying cry for the freedom of
self-expression.[76]
The slogan was first used on Twitter and spread to the Internet at
large. The Twitter account and the original "Je suis Charlie" picture
bearing the phrase in white Charlie Hebdo style font on black background were
created by French journalist and artist Joachim Roncin just after the massacre.[77]
The website of Charlie Hebdo went offline shortly after the
shooting, and when it returned it bore the legend Je Suis Charlie on a black background.[78] The statement was used as the hashtag #jesuischarlie on Twitter,[79] as computer-printed or hand-made
placards and stickers, and displayed on mobile phones at vigils, and on many
websites, particularly media sites. While other symbols were used, notably
holding pens in the air, the phrase "Not Afraid", and tweeting
certain images, "Je Suis Charlie" became more widespread.[80]
Republican marches[edit]
Main
article: Republican marches
A series of rallies took place in cities across
France on 10–11 January 2015 to honour the victims of the Charlie
Hebdo shooting, and
also to voice support for freedom of speech.[81]
Luz, one of the survivors of the attack, stated:
"People sang La Marseillaise. We're speaking about the memory
of Charb, Tignous, Cabu, Honoré, Wolinski: they would all have abhorred that
kind of attitude."[82] Willem, another surviving cartoonist,
declared that "We vomit on those who suddenly declared that they were our
friends".[83]
Other reactions[edit]
Unrest in Niger following the publication of the
post-attack issue of Charlie Hebdo resulted in ten deaths,[84] dozens injured, and at least nine
churches burned.[85] The Guardian reported seven churches burned in Niamey alone. Churches were also
reported to be on fire in easternMaradi and Goure. There were violent
demonstrations in Karachi in Pakistan, where Asif Hassan, a photographer working for the Agence
France-Presse, was
seriously injured by a shot to the chest. In Algiers and Jordan, protesters
clashed with police, while peaceful demonstrations were held in Khartoum,
Sudan, Russia, Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania.[85]
RT reported that a million people
attended a demonstration in Grozny, the capital city of the Chechen
Republic,
protesting against the depictions of Muhammad in Charlie Hebdo and proclaiming that Islam is a religion of peace. One of
the slogans was "Violence is not the method".[86]Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
declared a regional holiday and denounced “people without spiritual and moral
values” in front of an audience estimated to range between 600,000 to a million
people.[87]
A British NGO, the Islamic
Human Rights Commission, gave
their 2015 international 'Islamophobe of the Year' award to Charlie Hebdo,[88]whereas another British
organisation, the National Secular Society, awarded the Charlie Hebdo staff with Secularist
of the Year 2015
"for their courageous response to the terror attack". The magazine
said it would donate the associated £5,000 prize money to the fund that
supports the families of the murdered cartoonists.[89]
Post-attack[edit]
Following some controversies over the paper's
future following the 2015 attack,[90] Charb's 40% stake in Charlie Hebdo was purchased from his parents by
Riss and Eric Portheault, who were as of July 2015 sole shareholders in the
paper. Charlie Hebdo switched to a new legal press
publisher status which requires 70% of profits to be reinvested.[91]
Other controversies[edit]
Coco's artwork on the front cover of
Charlie Hebdo on 14 September 2015 illustrates a parody of racist attitudes
that proclaim that migrants are "welcome" but are treated as
footstools. The speech balloon, "This [land] is your home", is a
reference to a famous nationalist phrase, "This is our home".
Daniel Schneidermann argues that the 2015 attack
raised the profile of the paper internationally with non-Francophone audiences,
meaning that only parts of the paper are selectively translated into English,
making it easy to misrepresent the editorial stance of the publication and the
purpose of provocative work.[92] Nadine
Morano was
offended at being drawn as a baby with down syndrome after making remarks
supporting the National Front.[93]
One year after the attack, the weekly featured a
caricature of Yahweh with a Klashnikov rifle. The Vatican and Jewish
groups said they were offended,[94][95] and the Associated
Press censored
images of the cover.[96][97]
The 14 September 2015 edition's cover cartoon by Coco depicted a migrant being
maltreated by a man who proclaims "welcome to refugees" - in order to
parody European claims about compassion.[98] Riss wrote an editorial on the European
migrant crisis, arguing
that it was hypocritical for Hungarian politicians to declare themselves
compassionate because of their Christian beliefs, but at the same time reject
migrants from Syria. Riss parodied anti-immigrant attitudes by featuring a
cartoon with a caricature of Jesus walking on water next to a drowning Muslim
boy, with the caption "this is how we know Europe is Christian". The
cartoons were widely seen as gallows humour in France, but prompted another
wave of controversy abroad.[99] That issue also included a
caricature of the dead body of Syrian Kurdish refugee child Alan
Kurdi next to a
McDonald's sign with the caption, "So close to his goal."[100] In response to criticism,
cartoonist Corinne Rey said that she was criticizing the
consumerist society that was being sold to migrants like a dream.[101]
Following the crash of Metrojet
Flight 9268, which
killed 224 civilians and was seen as a probable terrorist attack, Charlie Hebdo published cartoons which were
widely perceived as mocking the victims of the tragedy. One of the cartoons
showed pieces of the plane falling on anIslamic State (ISIS) fighter with the caption:
"Russia's air force intensifies its bombing." A spokesman for Vladimir
Putin called
the artwork "sacrilege", and members of the State
Duma called
for the magazine to be banned as extremist literature and demanded an apology
from France.[102]
After the 2015 Cologne Sexual Attacks, a January 2016 edition included
a cartoon by Riss about the dead child Alan Kurdi, reflecting fickle sentiment
towards refugees by including a caption questioning whether the boy would have
grown up to be an "ass groper in Germany".[103][104][105][106]