Last week’s attack on the Paris offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo left 12 people dead, including five of France’s top cartoonists. This week, their surviving colleagues produced an eight-page edition of the magazine, working from the offices of the French newspaper Libération.
The cover, drawn by cartoonist Luz, who survived the massacre because he was late arriving to the office on Wednesday, sounds a defiant note.
It shows a figure, widely interpreted as representing the Prophet Mohammed, shedding a tear and holding up a sign that reads “Je Suis Charlie”, a reference to the slogan of solidarity for the dead journalists. The headline translates as “All is forgiven”.
Given that it was the magazine’s visual depiction of the Prophet – which many Muslims believe their religion prohibits – which made it the target of violence, the statement is both conciliatory and defiant. The image has been republished online by newspapers and magazines across Europe, and has been briefly shown on some TV channels.
A record 3 million copies of the magazine will be printed, in 16 languages.
