Many in Russia are surprised at the indifference and callousness that Europeans show towards the troubles and misfortunes of not only other peoples, but also their own. For many Russians, the reaction of German men to the rampant sexual violence in Cologne was a shock.
However, this behavior is the result of many years of purposeful activity by the “powers of this world” to form a new type of person - a person deprived of basic humanitarian values, deprived of basic social bonds - religion, school, family. A person whose cult is consumerism and self-centeredness. This activity is also called dehumanization of a person.
One example of how this activity is carried out is the history of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Brief historical background:
Magazine " Charlie Mensuel"was founded in 1969 as a monthly and was published until 1981, then ceased publication, but was revived in 1992 as a weekly.
Since 1960, another predecessor has been published " Charlie Hebdo", monthly magazine " Hara-Kiri " The magazine existed under the motto “ the magazine is stupid and evil" They did it on purpose - offensive caricatures, terrible bad taste.
In 1970, the magazine was closed after making a crude joke about the death of Charles de Gaulle.
On November 23, 1970, the first issue of Charlie Hebdo was published. the title of the magazine contains an allusion to the background of its existence.
Charlie Hebdo has a long history of irreverence and provocation
Charlie Hebdo long ago abandoned the "stupid and nasty" slogan used by its predecessor, Hara-Kiri, but its authors continued to honor the ideal expressed by the magazine's founder Francois Cavannay.
"Nothing is sacred! - principle No. 1.
Not your mother, not the Jewish martyrs, not even people dying of hunger," Mr. Cavanna wrote in 1982, as the Parisian scholar Jane Weston quoted him as saying. "Laugh at everyone, cruelly, caustically, to drive out the old monsters ".
Such monsters included shame, morality, religiosity, compassion...
Over the years, more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed against Charlie Hebdo by offended Christians, but the first hints of violence were provoked by constant challenges to Islamic fanatics.
In 2006 there was a bomb threat and lawsuit, in 2011 there was a firebombing. The magazine staff began to get used to living under police protection.
The magazine published cartoons of leading politicians, shrines of Christianity and Islam, including the Prophet Muhammad, often of an obscene nature.
A series of high-profile scandals, however, did not make the magazine popular; it existed on the verge of marginality and was close to bankruptcy.
Until an event occurred that sharply increased the stakes in the game.
On January 7, 2015, during an armed attack on the editorial office in Paris, 12 people were killed, including two policemen. There were two attackers, they fired about thirty shots from automatic weapons.
Let us leave aside the absurdities that emerge from all the cracks during a detailed examination of this terrorist attack.
On the same day, a mass action was launched throughout the world “ I'm Charlie! »
The Parisian authorities have decided to award the Charlie Hebdo newspaper the title of “Honorary Citizen of the City of Paris.”».
The authorities of the French city of La Tremblade in the Charente-Maritime department have decided to rename one of the city squares in honor of the weekly Charlie Hebdo. According to the mayor of the municipality, Jean-Pierre Tailleux, a small square located next to the La Tremblade library will receive a new name.
Almost a year after the tragedy, on January 5, 2016, French President François Hollande, Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo unveiled memorial plaques in memory of the victims:
"N And who has not read Charlie Hebdo, everyone was disgusted by these perverts who now they have become almost saints, - the journalist is indignant Emmanuel Ratier. - They almost want to put them in the Pantheon. On the one hand, we live in a country where gay pride parades flourish, national roots are destroyed, and moral standards are despised. On the other hand, there is a strong Islamic community that preserves traditional values. We ourselves created this swamp, and now we are surprised that a bunch of mosquitoes have flown here!”
Russian citizens strongly condemned the murder of cartoonists in France, but were just as strongly outraged by the cartoons themselves.
And then the French were slightly taken aback. How so? After all, the right to fight against God and blasphemy is an integral right of democracy in Europe, starting from the time of the French Revolution. God is dead! Which means he never lived at all! Christians in Europe today are pitiful creatures. If you want to believe, do it quietly.
On January 14, 2015, a week after the terrorist attack, the next, 1178th, issue of the magazine was published with a circulation of 3 million copies. In Paris it sold out in 15 minutes. (price 3 euros).
Thus, the magazine set an absolute record in the entire history of the French press. In the future (Thursday-Friday) it was planned to increase the circulation to 5 million copies. With additional printing, bring it to 7 million..
Well, the provocation was a success, the average circulation rose from 60 thousand to 5 million
It would not be superfluous to note the fact that Hollande's rating after the Charlie Hebdo shooting and the French authorities' reaction to it jumped by 21 points.
So, let's look at the stages of this publication's long journey.
Beginning - 1970. It was preceded by the turbulent year of 1968 - it was a year of enormous social upheaval: thousands of people protested against the US war in Vietnam across the world.
In most developed countries, strike tensions were growing and there was a sharp surge in actions by workers and students for their rights.
And during the same period, the so-called “sexual revolution”, “hippie revolution” began, and there was a sharp surge in drug addiction.
That is, someone with a skillful hand is directing the social protest of young people in a completely different direction.
Instead of protesting against the conditions of society, withdrawal from society is proposed.
Instead of understanding certain social phenomena, laughter is offered.
There was a fight between students and the police. - Ha ha ha!
Tear gas was sprayed. - Ha-ha-ha!
Children died - that's hilarious!
Continuous satanic dances on the bones and moral feelings of an entire people have led to the fact that many of these feelings have become dull, or even become extinct.
Are you ashamed to participate in the “Walk around the city in your underwear” campaign? - well, you’re a loser and a loser!
You feel sorry for the children suffering in Palestine - you are just a wimp and a slob!
You believe in God - but you're sick!
Opening Overton windows? - undoubtedly.
And note: the war in Libya and Syria caused virtually no reaction in French society, although the level of awareness about the atrocities happening there due to the Internet is much higher than it was with information about the atrocities of the Americans in Vietnam.
On the pages of the weekly magazine, caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed were also published interspersed with obscene pictures showing the demonstration of genitals, which is now presented as the main value of European civilization.
« Charlie Hebdo was simply a tool for the destruction of traditional French Christian culture,- says the writer and philosopher Jean-Michel Vernocher . - The magazine was anti-family, pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality. The shooting of cartoonists is a necessary shock to prepare France for the Great War."
Prince Charles-Philippe of Orléans, Duke of Anjou , on his Facebook page said: “ To honor the memory of the dead - yes. Solidarize with “Charlie” - no. No, I'm not Charlie“, because I never liked this vulgar leaflet, which despises any opinion other than its own, engaging in provocations under the pretext of expressing freedom of opinion. "Charlie Hebdo" is the embodiment of left-wing European society, which undermines authority and sows enmity between people and nations ».
Official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova I am sure that the editors of Charlie Hebdo, by claiming that there are no taboo topics for their humor, are deceiving both us and themselves.
"If this were so, then the caricature of a dead Syrian child could be understood (not accepted, but understood). But this is only on one condition - if the next day after the terrorist attack, Charlie published a new issue with a caricature of their dead comrades. Something like an image of dead Charlie journalists with the caption: “So we got rid of the colleagues we were embarrassed to fire"
But they weren’t frostbitten to that extent. Bye. Which indicates that they draw their dirty tricks not in a creative impulse, but according to specific orders from individuals pursuing serious globalist goals.
What else is worrying? Exaggerated reaction from the international community. Terrorist attacks are, unfortunately, not a rare phenomenon. Neither the London, nor the Madrid terrorist attacks, nor even the Paris one with a huge number of victims caused such a shock in the EU.
Even in America after September 11, there were no mass marches with the arrival of all the heads of state. And here is a whole parade of VIPs!
If in 1970 the magazine was closed for cartoons on the death of Charles de Gaulle, then in 2015 the magazine mocks with impunity the deaths of Parisians in terrorist attacks.
Then society did not accept blasphemy, and now it even rewards it.
And if earlier the cartoonists of this indecent magazine were on the level between city crazy people and professionally and creatively exhausted losers, now they have become gurus! Look at how many honors they were shown! Try to criticize them now - you will immediately get accused of insulting the memory of those who died for freedom of speech.
Meanwhile, freedom of speech has turned into the freedom of some to insult others, into the freedom of lies and slander, into the freedom of immorality and shamelessness.
(French) RussianStory
The magazine published cartoons of leading politicians, holy sites of Christianity and Islam, including the Prophet Muhammad, often of an obscene nature. The last such publication, in September, was a response to the amateur film “The Innocence of Muslims” and the subsequent unrest in Arab countries with an American presence. Also, in the city the magazine mocked the referendum in Crimea and Putin’s foreign policy towards Ukraine.
2008 cartoon scandal
Attack on January 7, 2015
On January 7, 2015, during an armed attack on the editorial office in Paris, 12 people were killed, including two policemen. Moreover, one of the policemen, who was knocked down, was killed point-blank, in a prone position. There were two attackers, they fired about thirty shots from automatic weapons. Among the dead were cartoonists Stéphane Charbonnier (known under the pseudonym Charb; 47 years old), Jean Cabu (76 years old), Georges Wolinsky (80 years old) and Bernard Verlac (57 years old). According to media reports, the attack occurred several hours after a cartoon of one of the leaders of the ISIS group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, appeared on Twitter.
Public response
The attack sparked a wave of protests. A grand march took place in Paris in memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks, in which several dozen heads of state of the world took part, in particular from Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, Ukraine and others. Other countries sent their representatives. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was present from Russia.
The attack caused mixed reactions among the Russian public. A representative of the Moscow Patriarchate said that terrorism cannot be justified, but participants in the “Je suis Charlie” campaign, in his opinion, are wrongly putting freedom of speech above the feelings of believers. Roskomnadzor called on Russian media to refrain from publishing cartoons on religious topics.
After terrorist attack phrase Je suis Charlie(Russian: I am Charlie) has become the slogan of freedom of speech defenders around the world. The design of the slogan - a white and gray inscription in the characteristic Charlie Hebdo font on a black background - was created by the French artist and journalist Joachim Roncin. Freedom of speech advocates around the world also use other symbols: the “I’m Not Afraid” poster, images of feathers, pencils, etc. However, the most popular symbol remains the poster Je suis Charlie .
Memory
The authorities of Paris decided to award the Charlie Hebdo newspaper the title “Honorary Citizen of the City of Paris”.
The authorities of the French city of La Tremblade in the Charente-Maritime department have decided to rename one of the city squares in honor of the weekly Charlie Hebdo. According to the mayor of the municipality, Jean-Pierre Tailleux, a small square located next to the La Tremblade library will receive a new name.
A little less than a year after the tragedy, on January 5, 2016, French President François Hollande, Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo unveiled plaques in memory of the victims:
The day before, near the site of the death of Ahmed Merabe, a street artist known under the pseudonym S215 painted a portrait of the deceased policeman on the wall of a building, and the latter’s former colleagues painted a tag with the words painted in the colors of the national flag Je suis Ahmed(I am Ahmed) on the sidewalk opposite the memorial plaque.
On January 9, 2016, another memorial plaque was unveiled by President Hollande in Montrouge, where a year earlier 25-year-old municipal policewoman Clarisse Jean-Philippe was killed at the hands of terrorists. The street on which the tragedy occurred was also renamed: from Avenue Pe to Avenue Pe - Clarisse Jean-Philippe (fr. Avenue de la Paix - Clarissa Jean-Philippe
Satirical illustrations about the crash of the Tu-154 in 2016 in Sochi
On December 28, 2016, cartoons were published about the crash of the Tu-154 plane of the Russian Ministry of Defense near Sochi, in which 92 people died, and about the murder of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov
Circulation
In early February, publication of the magazine was temporarily suspended, but resumed on February 24 (the previous issue reached a circulation of 8 million).
Price
The standard cost of the magazine is 3 euros. A kind of unofficial record price for the latest issue of the magazine on eBay was up to 300 euros. The record cost of one copy of the penultimate issue, from which further events began [ When?], reached $80,000 on eBay.
Management
Criticism
This magazine incites interreligious hatred and its publications, as we see, lead to an escalation of violence. With this ban we want to prevent the release of the Russian version of the magazine. These kinds of ideas and pictures will not find support among the overwhelming majority of Russians.
A number of publicists take a different position, noting that it is precisely due to the dubious level and unpleasant nature of humor that “Charlie Hebdo” serves as the best indicator of freedom of speech, since the whole point of freedom of speech is that stupid, ugly, and offensive speech is allowed. dissatisfaction statements .
Reflecting on the legitimacy of the taboo on criticism of value systems in principle, publicist Ivan Davydov draws the line of a “conflict of civilizations” “between those who are able to problematize their own values and those who have not yet felt the importance of this skill”:
“...when choosing a side in a difficult-to-describe conflict of civilizations, remember: there are no values that would not offend at least someone.<…>And by justifying the possibility of punishing for words - no matter what words - you are not justifying yourself, but the one who will one day come to kill you.”
In November 2015, the magazine published two cartoons about the crash of the Russian A321 aircraft over the Sinai Peninsula, which caused a negative reaction from Russian society.
see also
Notes
Comments
Sources
- Pourquoi Charlie Hebdo s"appelle Charlie Hebdo // Direct Matin. - 2015. - 8 January.
- Hamilton, G. Charlie Hebdo has had a long tradition of disrespect and provocation // National Post. - Canada, 2015. January 7.(French hebdomadaire - weekly).
- Charlie Hebdo publie des caricatures de Mahomet(French). BMFTV. Archived from the original on October 31, 2012.
- Among the cartoons of the executed Charlie Hebdo there was one about the annexation of Crimea // Crimea.Realities
- "L'islamisme y est dénoncé comme un totalitarisme religieux mettant en danger la démocratie, à la suite du fascisme, du nazisme et du stalinisme." Manifeste des douze.
- Zakharova: “Another Charlie?” // RIA News
- The State Duma called on France to evaluate the cartoons of the A321 crash // Interfax
- Charlie Hebdo published cynical cartoons about the A-321 crash in Egypt // REN-TV, November 5, 2015
- The French Foreign Ministry responded to the publication of cartoons about the A321 crash in Charlie Hebdo // REN-TV, November 6, 2015
- Charlie Hebdo editor-in-chief Gerard Biard responded to the Kremlin's accusation of blasphemy // November 6, 2015
- In France, a cartoonist who depicted Nicolas Sarkozy's son as converting to Judaism for the sake of a rich bride was fired (undefined) . NEWSru.com (August 4, 2008). Retrieved January 9, 2015.
- Road accidents involving children of officials (undefined) . Kommersant (August 17, 2010). Retrieved January 9, 2015.
- The son of Nicolas Sarkozy played the most modest wedding (undefined) . top.rbc.ru (September 11, 2008). Retrieved January 9, 2015.
- EN DIRECT. "Charlie Hebdo": 10 morts suite à une attaque d'hommes armés (French), pure médias (7 January 2015). Retrieved January 7, 2015.
- The terrorist attack in Paris occurred a few hours after Charlie Hebdo published a caricature of one of the leaders of the Islamic State. (Russian). Interfax-West (January 7, 2015).
An hour before the attack, Charlie Hebdo magazine published a cartoon of the IS leader (undefined) . RIA Novosti (January 7, 2015). Retrieved January 21, 2015.
Charlie Hebdo: le tweet de vœux de la rédaction devient un symbole de la liberté d"expression(French). Huffington Post (7 January 2015). Retrieved January 28, 2015. - March in memory of victims of terrorist attacks begins in Paris (Russian). RIA Novosti (January 11, 2015).
- Sarah Rainsford “Charlie Hebdo divided Russia” // BBC Russian Service, 01/15/2015
- image (undefined) . Enis Yavuz. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
TBILISI, January 15 - News-Georgia. An online application for downloading the latest issue of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo appeared on Thursday evening on the publication’s website, RIA Novosti reports.
The electronic version of the "Survivor Number" - the first issue after the terrorist attack in the building of the magazine, created exclusively by employees who survived the attack without the involvement of outside colleagues, is available on devices with Android, iOS and Windows Phone platforms. The description of the application in iTunes states that the required user age to install the application is at least 17 years old. Also, the accompanying information for the application states that it “frequently contains scenes of the use of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, scenes of a sexual nature, vulgar and blasphemous humor.” According to French media, on Friday versions of the magazine translated into English, Spanish and Arabic will be available for download on the app.
As of Thursday evening, the excitement around paper copies of the publication still persists. Currently, Parisian kiosks are registering those wishing to purchase the publication next week. According to several newspapermen, people who signed up will be able to receive the coveted number no earlier than Wednesday. On Thursday morning, the magazine was no longer on sale at most newsstands in the capital around 07:00 local time (09:00 Moscow time), and the rare receipts of the magazine were distributed among people who made an advance payment two days ago. In most cases, buyers standing in line for the opening of sales points were left with nothing.
According to estimates from a number of French media outlets, sales of this issue at newsstands have already brought the publication, which previously did not have sufficient funding even to pay salaries, at least 10 million euros. In total, revenue from this circulation could reach up to 15 million euros. Sales of the first issue since the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo editorial office began on Wednesday.
The cover of the publication depicts the Prophet Muhammad. He appears before readers sad, dressed in white, holding a sign with the slogan Je suis Charlie (“I am Charlie”). Above the prophet's head there is another inscription: Tout est pardonne ("All is forgiven"). The weekly issue has been translated into several languages. The regular circulation of the publication is 60 thousand copies, with less than half sold, but three million copies were published the day before, and later the publisher decided to issue an additional two million copies.
A series of terrorist attacks and emergencies began in France on January 7 with an attack on the Charlie Hebdo editorial office. Over three days, 17 people died, including three police officers. During two special operations on January 9, three terrorists were killed. On Sunday, a “republican march” against terrorism took place in Paris and other cities, which became the largest mass action in the history of France. During it, at least 3.7 million people took to the streets across the country, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
French cartoonists have once again joked beyond the boundaries of morality. Above those killed in the A321 plane crash [video]
Photo: REUTERS
Change text size: A A
There are people and there are scum. The second group includes the so-called cartoonist journalists from the French weekly Charlie Hebdo. Who this time decided to laugh at the plane crash over the Sinai Peninsula of the Russian A321 aircraft. And they dedicated two cartoons and one joke to this tragedy in the latest issue of their magazine.
In the first cartoon of a Bedouin with a machine gun, parts of the fuselage, engine, landing gear and passenger of the plane are falling from above, and the caption reads: “Islamic State: Russia intensifies bombing.” In the second cartoon, entitled “The Dangers of Russian Low-Cost Airlines,” a living skull against the backdrop of a burning plane utters: “I should have flown Air Cocaine.” This allegedly also plays into the recent scandal with two pilots transporting drugs arrested in the Dominican Republic. And in addition there is a joke that for the terrorists of the IS (a radical organization banned in Russia - ed.), allegedly shooting down a Russian plane, this was “the only way to get 224 portions of free food.”
You know, for some reason I am sure that this is all the so-called creativity of the employees of this magazine - porno cartoons on religious topics, a drawing about a drowned Syrian refugee boy, now this about an airplane - it all has nothing to do with freedom of speech and democratic values .
And I’m also sure that the vast majority of decent people share my opinion.
REACTION
MFA on caricatures of plane crash victims: Charlie, anyone else?
The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, commented on the cartoons of the victims of the Russian A321 plane crash that appeared in the famous French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Anyone else Charlie? - Maria Zakharova asked the question on her page on social networks
The Kremlin called caricatures of plane crash victims blasphemy
Official Moscow will not demand a response from Paris to the cartoons of the victims of the A321 plane crash published in Charlie Hebdo magazine. Kremlin official representative Dmitry Peskov spoke about this.
It’s not for us to judge the moral principles of the French, this is probably their concern,” Peskov said.
In our country this is called a very meaningful word - blasphemy. This has nothing to do with democracy, or self-expression, or anything - this is blasphemy,” said the press secretary of the Russian President
Publicist: The best thing to do was to ignore the Charlie Hebdo cartoons
The French magazine Charlie Hebdo published two blasphemous cartoons of the A321 plane that crashed in Egypt. Despite the obvious provocation, it is better not to pay attention to these cartoons - this opinion was expressed on the air of Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda by publicist Maxim Kononenko
HAVE AN OPINION
The sky did not fall over Russia
Andrey BARANOV
Yes, it was a tragic coincidence that in a few days three aircraft tragedies in different latitudes, one way or another connected with our country, claimed the lives of many people: the crash of an Airbus of the Kogalymavia company over the Sinai (224 dead), the crash of an AN-12 transport aircraft in South Sudan (the total number of victims on board and on the ground is 36 people), the crash of a light-engine Cessna in Crimea (four killed). “Plane crash!”, “Russian aviation is in a tailspin!” - some regulars of social networks burst into heart-rending screams
The controversial satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo publishes cartoons, discussions, jokes and reports. The magazine became known throughout the world after the terrorist attack that occurred on January 7, 2015, but even before that, the press continually discussed the scandalous cartoons published in the weekly. The editors of Charlie Hebdo have repeatedly explained to other media and the disgruntled public that generally accepted concepts of morality and ethics are simply not for them.
Brief history of the magazine
The French satirical weekly was founded in 1969 on the basis of the previously published Hara-Kiri (“Harakiri”). “Harakiri” is a real art provocation, a challenge to society, truly the most scandalous publication not only in France, but throughout the world. The newspaper has repeatedly spoken out harshly about the tragic events (as has Charlie Hebdo). Authorities tried to close the weekly newspaper several times. The same style was adopted by the weekly Charlie Hebdo.
Within a year of the new magazine's existence, its distribution was banned. Hara Kiri Hebdo made an extremely bad joke about the death of the founder of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle. Then the newspaper simply changed its name to “Charlie Hebdo”, abandoning “Harakiri”, and continued work in the same direction as before. Literally translated, the new name sounds like “Charlie's Weekly” (Charlie is one and the same as Charlie), in a sense reflecting the background of its existence.
The first issue was published on November 23, 1970. Ten years later, the publication lost popularity among readers and closed, and in 1992 the magazine was successfully relaunched. More than one hundred thousand people purchased the updated Charlie newspaper.
The French magazine Charlie Hebdo publishes cartoons, articles, columns and various satirical materials. Quite often materials of a truly obscene nature are published in print. The editorial team adheres to extreme leftist and anti-religious views. Leading world politicians, leaders of religious and public organizations are “under attack” from Charlie Hebdo. Caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad and Islam in general, the presidents of the United States, Russia and other countries, terrorist attacks and disasters were repeatedly published.
"Manifesto of the Twelve" 2006
In 2006, the French magazine Charlie Hebdo published the Manifesto of the Twelve. The appeal appeared as a reaction to the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in Denmark. The cartoons were reprinted in publications in many other countries. Most of those who signed the manifesto are writers from Islamic countries. They are forced to hide from the revenge of supporters of Islam for their statements or artistic works that allegedly offend the religious feelings of Muslims. In such aggressive Islamism, the authors of the “Manifesto of the Twelve” see a totalitarian ideology that threatens all of humanity (after, of course, fascism, Nazism and Stalinism, as the editorial board of “Charlie” claims).
2008 cartoon scandal
In 2008, the magazine published a caricature of the son of French President Jean Sarkozy. The authorship belongs to 79-year-old artist Miros Sina (in professional circles he is better known simply as Sina). The cartoonist is a convinced communist and an atheist.
The cartoon made a vague reference to the incident on October 14, 2005, when Sarkozy crashed into a car on a scooter and then fled the scene of the accident. A couple of weeks later, the court found the son not guilty. Sine, firstly, noted in the caption under the cartoon that Jean Sarkozy is “an unprincipled opportunist (a person who follows his own interests, even if fraudulently) who will go far.” Secondly, he noted the fact that “the court almost awarded him applause after the accident.” Thirdly, Sine concluded that for the sake of a profitable marriage, the son of a politician is even ready to convert to Judaism.
There is a reference here to the details of Jean Sarkozy's personal life. The young and already quite successful politician married (at that time he had just gotten engaged) to the heiress of the Darty household appliances chain, Jessica Sibun-Darty. The girl is Jewish by nationality, so for some time the press spread rumors that Jean would convert to Judaism instead of Catholicism.
The management of Charlie Hebdo demanded that the artist renounce his “creation,” but Sine did not do this, for which he was fired from the editorial staff, as he was accused of anti-Semitism. The editor-in-chief of the French weekly was supported by more than one authoritative public organization. The French Minister of Culture also criticized the cartoon, calling it "a relic of ancient prejudices."
Attack after caricature of the prophet
In 2011, the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo renamed itself Sharia Hebdo for one issue, jokingly naming the Prophet Muhammad as its new (temporarily) editor-in-chief. The cover featured an image of the prophet of Islam. Followers of Islam found this offensive. A day before the publication of the magazine, the editorial office was bombarded with bottles of Molotov cocktails. In addition, a few hours before the incident, an offensive caricature of the ISIS leader appeared on Charlie Hebdo’s Twitter account. As a result of the attack, the building was completely burned down.
Reason for another attack
On January 7, 2015, a terrorist attack occurred in Paris, at the editorial office of Charlie Hebdo magazine. The attack was the first in a series of terrorist attacks that took place in the French capital between January 7 and 9.
The reason for the attack was the anti-religious rhetoric of the French weekly, ridiculing the religious and political leaders of Islam and religion in general. Discontent among radical followers of Islam has been growing for a long time. The most resonant caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad were published in 2011 (an attack on the editorial office followed) and in 2013 (it was a comic about the life of the prophet). The reason for the terrorist attack is another publication. The editors of the magazine published a response to the amateur video “The Innocence of Muslims” and the unrest in Arab countries.
Film "The Innocence of Muslims"
The film itself, to the appearance of which the editors of the weekly had nothing to do, was filmed in the USA. This is a picture with obvious anti-Islamic rhetoric. The video hints that Muhammad was born from an extramarital affair, was a homosexual, a sexist, a ruthless killer and a "complete idiot." The film was directed by Makr Bassley Yusuf (also known as Nakula Basela Nakula, Sam Badgil and Sam Basil), an Egyptian Christian. He took such a provocative step because he considers Islam “a cancerous tumor on the body of humanity.” Even US President Barack Obama commented on this film, calling it “gross and disgusting.”
Riots began after the film's trailer was published online and several episodes were shown on Egyptian television. In 2012, protests took place at US embassies in Egypt, Tunisia, Australia, Pakistan (where public demonstrations were bloody, nineteen people were killed, and about two hundred protesters were injured) and other countries. The theologian Ahmed Ashush, the Minister of Railways of Pakistan, and radical Islamists called for the murder of the filmmakers and terrorist attacks. The US ambassador and diplomats in Libya were killed, and a terrorist attack was carried out in Kabul (a suicide bomber blew up a minibus with foreigners, killing 10 people).
Course of events January 7, 2015
At approximately 11:20, two terrorists, armed with submachine guns, machine guns, a grenade launcher, and a pump-action shotgun, drove up to the weekly newspaper’s archives. Realizing that they had made the wrong address, brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi asked two local residents for the address of the Charlie Hebdo editorial office. The terrorists shot one of them.
The armed people managed to get into the editorial office because they were helped by an employee of the publication, artist Corinne Rae. She was on her way to pick up her daughter from kindergarten when two men in camouflage appeared in front of the entrance. Karinn Rae was forced to enter the code and the gunmen threatened her with guns. The girl later said that the French terrorists were impeccable, and they themselves openly claimed that they were from al-Qaeda.
Armed men burst into the building shouting “Allahu Akbar.” The first person killed was office worker Frederic Boisseau. Afterwards, the militants went up to the second floor, where the meeting was taking place. In the conference room, the brothers called Charba (editor-in-chief Stéphane Charbonnier), shot him, and then opened fire on everyone else. The shots did not subside for about ten minutes.
Police received the first information about the attack at approximately 11:30. When we arrived at the building, the terrorists were already leaving the editorial office. A shootout began, during which no one was injured. Not far from the editorial office, militants attacked a policeman, who was wounded and then killed by a point-blank shot.
The terrorists took refuge in a small town 50 km from Paris. They were liquidated on January 9, 2015.
Dead and wounded
As a result of the terrorist attack, 12 people were killed. Among the dead:
- weekly editor-in-chief Stéphane Charbonnier;
- editor-in-chief's bodyguard Frank Brensolaro;
- police officer Ahmed Merabe;
- famous cartoonists and artists J. Wolinsky, F. Honore, J. Cabu, B. Verlac;
- journalists Bernard Maris and Michel Renault.
- proofreader Mustafa Urrad;
- office worker Frederic Boisseau;
- psychoanalyst, columnist for Charlie Hebdo magazine (France) Ellsa Kaya.
after the terrorist attack
The French President said that no terrorist attack can stifle freedom of the press (and Charlie Hebdo cartoons or jokes, even if they speak negatively about political or religious leaders, cannot justify killings), and personally visited the site of the terrorist attack. On the evening of January 7, a mass demonstration began on Place de la République in Paris as a sign of solidarity with the families and loved ones of those killed or injured as a result of the terrorist attack. Many came out with the words “Je suis Charlie” (“I am Charlie”) written in white letters on a black background. Mourning was declared in France.
After the terrorist attack, a number of media outlets offered help to the editors. The new issue was released on January 14 thanks to the joint efforts of Charlie Hebdo, the media group of the Canal+ TV channel and the Le Monde newspaper.
Later, the Parisian authorities awarded the satirical weekly the title of “Honorary Citizen of the City of Paris,” decided to rename one of the squares in honor of the magazine, and posthumously awarded the editorial staff the degrees of Knight of the Legion of Honor. The organizers of the International Comics Festival awarded the dead cartoonists a special Grand Prix (also posthumously).
Cartoons after the Tu-154 crash
Despite the attack, the magazine continued to operate. For example, on December 28, 2016, Charlie Hebdo published a cartoon about the Tu-154 crash near Sochi (92 people died, including members of the Russian Army ensemble, Doctor Lisa, three film crews, the director of the Department of Culture of the Ministry of Defense, military personnel) and for the murder of the Russian ambassador to Turkey.
Circulation and cost of the magazine
After the terrorist attack in 2015, issue 1178 was published in three million copies. The weekly sold out in literally 15 minutes, so the magazine set an absolute record in the entire history of the French press. The circulation of Charlie Hebdo was increased to 5 million copies, and later to 7 million. In early February, publication of the newspaper was suspended, but a new issue appeared on February 24.
The average cost of Charlie Hebdo is 3 euros (a little more than 200 rubles). At the auction, the cost of the new issue (released immediately after the terrorist attack) reached 300 euros, i.e. 20,861 rubles, and the last one before the attack - 80,000 US dollars (more than 4.5 million rubles).
Management of Charlie Hebdo magazine
Over the entire period of its existence, the weekly has had four editors-in-chief. The first was Francois Cavanna, the second was Philippe Wahl, the third was Stéphane Charbonnier. The fourth editor of the newspaper, who became the head of the editorial office after 2015, is Gerard Biard. The new editor-in-chief fully supports the publication's policies in everything.
