PARIS Since Charlie Hebdo lost eight staff members in a terrorist attack last week, millions of people have declared their support to the French satirical magazine with the slogan Je Suis Charlie.
Now the often-caustic publication, faced with the challenge of reconciling its new status as a cause clbre with its reflex to mock, ridicule and offend, is putting a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad on the cover of what is likely to be their most-read issue ever.
Distributors said Monday they were preparing to print as many as three million copies of Wednesdays issue, 50 times the normal circulation. That is raising pressure on a small outlet known for skewering all forms of authority including some that have rushed to its defense.
Last weeks attack has turned Charlie Hebdo into an emblem for freedom of expression. Millions of people took to the streets on Sunday across France, chanting the magazines name. Production of the issue itself has become a media event, with other journalists gathering at the offices of left-wing daily Libration, which has hosted Charlie Hebdo since the attack.
Its been extremely moving and also hypocritical, said Laurent Lger, a reporter for the magazine who survived the shooting. All of a sudden, we are supported by the entire world. Whereas for years we were completely alone.
Charlie Hebdo isnt pulling any punches. The caricature of Muhammad on the cover is the same transgression that one of the alleged assailants in last weeks attack said had motivated the killings. This time he is carrying a sign saying Je Suis Charlie under the headline All is forgiven.
Another target for this weeks issue is likely to be Sundays solidarity march in France, surviving staff members said. The massive rally became a magnet for French and international political figures that have been a mainstay in Charlie Hebdos pages. Attendees included dignitaries from Turkey, Egypt, and Russia, countries that it has criticized for curbing free speech.
All those dictators at a march celebrating liberty, Lger said. We of course are going to continue the mockery. Well see if it makes them jump.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com
Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/charlie-hebdo-mocks-muhammad-jesuischarlie-on-comeback-cover-2015-01-13
