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Charlie Hebdo

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This article is about the newspaper. For the 7 January 2015 attack at the newspaper, see Charlie Hebdo shooting.

Charlie Hebdo
Logo of the weekly Charlie Hebdo
TypeWeekly satirical
news magazine
FormatMagazine
Founded1970[1]
Political alignmentLeft-wing
Ceased publication1981
Relaunched1992
HeadquartersParis, France
Circulation45,000
ISSN1240-0068
Websitecharliehebdo.fr
Facebook: Charlie Hebdo Officiel
URLFacebook Link

Charlie Hebdo (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁli ɛbdo]; French for Weekly Charlie) is a French satirical weekly newspaper, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Irreverent and stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication is strongly anti-racist[2] and left-wing, publishing articles on the extreme right, Catholicism, Islam, Judaism, politics, culture, etc. According to its former editor, Charb (Stéphane Charbonnier), the magazine's editorial viewpoint reflects "all components of left wing pluralism, and even abstainers".[3]

It first appeared from 1969 to 1981; it folded, but was resurrected in 1992. Charb was the most recent editor, holding the post from 2009 until his death in the attack on the magazine's offices in 2015. His predecessors were François Cavanna (1969–1981) and Philippe Val (1992–2009). The magazine is published every Wednesday, with special editions issued on an unscheduled basis.

It experienced two terrorist attacks, in 2011 and in 2015, which were presumed to be in response to a number of controversial Muhammad cartoons published by the magazine. In the latter of these attacks, twelve people were killed, including several contributors, and the editor, Charb.

Early years

François Cavanna, one of the founders of Charlie Hebdo

In 1960, Georges "Professeur Choron" Bernier and François Cavanna launched a monthly magazine entitled Hara-Kiri.[4] 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, fr [Gébé], 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.

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.[citation needed] ('Hebdo' is short for 'hebdomadaire' – 'weekly')

The weekly 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, Pierre Fournier, and Willem.

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 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."[4] As a result, the journal was once more banned, this time by the Minister of the Interior.

In order to sidestep the ban, the team decided to change its title, and used Charlie Hebdo.[1] The new name was derived from a monthly comics magazine called Charlie Mensuel (Charlie Monthly), which had been started by Bernier and Delfeil de Ton in 1968. Charlie took its name from Charlie Brown, the lead character of Peanuts – one of the comics originally published in Charlie Mensuel – and was also an inside joke about Charles de Gaulle.[5] In December 1981, publication ceased.

Post-renaming

New head office fr [Rue Serpollet] in Paris

In 1991, Gébé, Cabu and others were reunited to work for La Grosse Bertha, a new weekly magazine resembling Charlie created in reaction to the First Gulf War and edited by comic singer Philippe Val. However, the following year, Val clashed with the publisher, who wanted apolitical mischief, 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 Séchan. Val was editor, Gébé artistic 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, Stéphane Charbonnier and Philippe Val filed 173,704 signatures, obtained in 8 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.[6]

In 2000, journalist Mona Chollet was sacked after she had protested against a Philippe Val article which called Palestinians "non-civilized".[7] In 2004, following the death of Gébé, Val succeeded him as director of the publication, while still holding his position as editor.

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, the Muslim World League and the Union of French Islamic Organisations (UOIF) sued, claiming the cartoon edition included racist cartoons.[8] A later edition contained a statement by a group of 12 writers warning against Islamism.[9]

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."[10]

Future president Nicolas Sarkozy sent a letter to be read in court expressing his support for the ancient French tradition of satire.[11] 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 they were politicizing a court case.[12]

On 22 March 2007, executive editor Philippe Val was acquitted by the court.[13] 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 Mohammed with a bomb in his turban should be seen in the context of the magazine in question which attacked religious fundamentalism.

In 2008, controversy broke over a column by veteran cartoonist Siné which led to accusations of antisemitism and Siné's sacking by Val. Siné sued the newspaper for unfair dismissal and Charlie Hebdo was sentenced to pay him €90,000 in damages.[14] Siné launched a rival paper called Siné Hebdo which later became Siné Mensuel. 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 (Stéphane Charbonnier) and Riss (Laurent Sourisseau). Val gave away his shares in 2011. [citation needed]

Controversial Muhammad cartoons

Image of the cover of Charlie Hebdo, renamed Charia Hebdo. The bubble reads "100 lashes if you don't die of laughter!"

The paper's controversial 3 November 2011 issue, renamed "Charia Hebdo" (a reference to Sharia law) and "guest-edited" by Muhammad, depicted Muhammad saying: "100 lashes of the whip if you don't die laughing."

There have been two attacks presumed to be in retaliation: one in 2011 and one in 2015.

November 2011 attack

Debris outside the paper's offices following the November 2011 attack

In the early hours of 2 November 2011, the newspaper's office in the 20th arrondissement[15][16] was fire-bombed and its website hacked. The attacks were presumed linked to its decision to rename a special edition "Charia Hebdo", with the Islamic Prophet Mohammed listed as the "editor-in-chief".[17] The cover, featuring a cartoon of Mohammed by Luz (Renald Luzier), had circulated on social media for a couple of days.

Charb was quoted by AP 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."[18] François Fillon, the prime minister, and Claude Guéant, the interior minister, voiced support for Charlie Hebdo,[16] as did feminist writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who criticised calls for self-censorship.[19]

2012 publication

In September 2012, the newspaper published a series of satirical cartoons of Muhammad, some of which feature nude caricatures of him.[20][21] Given that this came days after a series of attacks on U.S. 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 centers, and international schools in about 20 Muslim countries.[22] In addition, riot police surrounded the offices of the magazine to protect against possible attacks.[21][23][24]

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?"[25] The U.S. White House stated "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." [26] 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."[27][28]

January 2015 attack

Wikinews has related news:
Journalists, policemen, and emergency services in the street of the shooting, a few hours after the January 2015 attack
Main article: Charlie Hebdo shooting

On 7 January 2015, three Islamist gunmen[29] opened fire at the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo, killing twelve, including staff cartoonists Charb, Cabu, Honoré, Tignous and Wolinski,[30] economist Bernard Maris and two police officers standing guard at the magazine, and wounding eleven, four of them seriously.[31][32][33][34][35][36]

During the attack the gunmen were heard to shout Allahu akbar, "the Prophet is avenged", and "I'm not killing you because you are a woman and we don't kill women but you have to convert to Islam, read the Qu'ran and wear a veil."[29][37][38][39] President François Hollande described it as a "terrorist attack of the most extreme barbarity".[40] The three attackers were identified as Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi, both French, and Hamyd Mourad, 18, whose nationality is unknown.

Aftermath

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 1 million copies, up significantly from its usual 60,000.[41][42]

The Digital Innovation Press Fund (French: Fonds Google–AIPG pour l’Innovation Numérique de la presse), part-funded by Google, donated €250,000 to support the magazine,[43] matching a donation by the French Press and Pluralism Fund.[44] The Guardian Media Group has pledged a separate donation of £100,000 to the same cause.[45]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b McNab 2006, p. 26: "Georges Bernier, the real name of 'Professor Choron', [... was] cofounder and director of the satirical magazine Hara Kiri, whose title was changed (to circumvent a ban, it seems!) to Charlie Hebdo in 1970."
  2. ^ Charb. "Non, "Charlie Hebdo" n'est pas raciste !". Le Monde. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  3. ^ «Charlie Hebdo, c'est la gauche plurielle» [archive] sur lecourrier.ch du 9 avril 2010
  4. ^ a b Lemonnier 2008, p. 50.
  5. ^ Cavanna et "les cons", Le Monde, 14 February 2014
  6. ^ Antoine Guiral, Les 173 704 signatures de Charlie Hebdo in Libération, 12 September 1996.
  7. ^ L’opinion du patron, Les Mots Sont Importants, 4 March 2006.
  8. ^ "Caricatures : Charlie Hebdo relaxé : CFCM Tv – Culte Musulman et Islam de France – HAJJ 2012 – Halal". Cfcm.tv. 22 March 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  9. ^ "Writers' statement on cartoons (March 1, 2006)". BBC News. 1 March 2006. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  10. ^ Heneghan, Tom, "Cartoon row goes to French court", IOL, 2 February 2007 at 06:37pm.
  11. ^ e-TF1 (15 December 2011). "Caricatures : Le soutien de Sarkozy à Charlie Hebdo fâche le CFCM – France – TF1 News". Lci.tf1.fr. Retrieved 21 December 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Charlie Hebdo : Sarkozy accusé de politiser le procès". L'EXPRESS. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  13. ^ "French cartoons editor acquitted", BBC, 22 March 2007 14:33 GMT.
  14. ^ Charlie Hebdo doit verser 90 000 euros à Siné, Libération, 17 December 2012.
  15. ^ Schofield, Hugh. "Charlie Hebdo and its place in French journalism." BBC. 3 November 2011.
  16. ^ a b Boxel, James (2 November 2011). "Firebomb attack on satirical French magazine". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  17. ^ "BBC News: Attack on French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo (November 2, 2011)". Bbc.co.uk. 2 November 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  18. ^ AP via Google.
  19. ^ Peter Worthington (9 November 2011). "Extremists hurt non-militant Muslims the most". Toronto Sun. QMI.
  20. ^ "Charlie Hebdo publie des caricatures de Mahomet". BMFTV Template:Fr icon Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  21. ^ a b Vinocur, Nicholas (19 September 2012). "Magazine's nude Mohammad cartoons prompt France to shut embassies, schools in 20 countries". Reuters. The National Post. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  22. ^ Samuel, Henry (19 September 2012). "France to close schools and embassies fearing Mohammed cartoon reaction". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  23. ^ Khazan, Olga (19 September 2012). "Charlie Hebdo cartoons spark debate over free speech and Islamophobia". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  24. ^ Keller, Greg; Hinnant, Lori (19 September 2012). "Charlie Charlie Hebdo Mohammed Cartoons: France Ups Embassy Security After Prophet Cartoons". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 19 September 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ Clark, Nicola (19 September 2012). "French Magazine Publishes Cartoons Mocking Muhammad". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  26. ^ "Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 9/19/12". The White House.
  27. ^ "French leaders sound alarm over planned Mohammad cartoons". Reuters. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  28. ^ Stefan Simons (20 September 2012). "'Charlie Hebdo' Editor in Chief: 'A Drawing Has Never Killed Anyone'". Spiegel Online.
  29. ^ a b Bremner, Charles (7 January 2015). "Islamists kill 12 in attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo". The Times.
  30. ^ "Attentat contre " Charlie Hebdo " : Charb, Cabu, Wolinski et les autres, assassinés dans leur rédaction". Le Monde (in French).
  31. ^ "Deadly attack on office of French magazine Charlie Hebdo". BBC News.
  32. ^ "Charlie Hebdo attack: What we know so far", BBC News Europe, 8 January 2015.
  33. ^ "EN DIRECT. Massacre chez "Charlie Hebdo" : 12 morts, dont Charb et Cabu". Le Point.fr (in French).
  34. ^ "Les dessinateurs Charb et Cabu seraient morts" (in French). France: L'Essentiel. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  35. ^ Conal Urquhart. "Paris Police Say 12 Dead After Shooting at Charlie Hebdo". Time. Witnesses said that the gunmen had called out the names of individual from the magazine. French media report that Charb, the Charlie Hebdo cartoonist who was on al-Qaeda's most wanted list in 2013, was seriously injured.
  36. ^ Victoria Ward. "Murdered Charlie Hebdo cartoonist was on al Qaeda wanted list". The Telegraph.
  37. ^ "The Globe in Paris: Police identify three suspects". The Globe and Mail.
  38. ^ Chris Richards (8 January 2015). "Charlie Hebdo: Journalist spared death by terrorists during brutal attack at magazine office 'because she's a woman'". mirror.
  39. ^ RFI (7 January 2015). "Charlie Hebdo: ce qu'on sait de l'attentat et de l'enquête". RFI.
  40. ^ Adam Withnall, John Lichfield, "Charlie Hebdo shooting: At least 12 killed as shots fired at satirical magazine's Paris office", The Independent, 7 January 2015.
  41. ^ "Charlie Hebdo will come out next week, despite bloodbath". The Times of India. 8 January 2015.
  42. ^ "Charlie Hebdo Attack: Magazine to publish next week". BBC News. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  43. ^ Russell Brandom (8 January 2015). "Charlie Hebdo will publish one million copies next week with help from Google-backed fund". The Verge.
  44. ^ Jon Stone (8 January 2015). "French media raises €500,000 to keep satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo open". The Independent.
  45. ^ "Updates on the 2nd Day of Search for Suspects in Charlie Hebdo Shooting". The New York Times. 8 January 2015.

Bibliography

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charlie Hebdo.
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