Charlie Hebdo
Encyclopedia
Charlie Hebdo is a French satirical weekly newspaper, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics and jokes. It appeared from 1969 to 1981, when it folded, and was resurrected in 1992. The current editor is cartoonist Charb. His predecessors are François Cavanna
(1969-1981) and Philippe Val
(1992-2009). Irreverent and stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has a strongly left-wing, anarchist slant.
The magazine is published every Wednesday, with special editions issued on an unscheduled basis.
, and François Cavanna
launched a monthly magazine entitled Hara-Kiri
. Choron acted as the director of publication and Cavanna as its editor. Eventually Cavanna gathered together a team which included Roland Topor
, Fred Othon Aristidès, Jean-Marc Reiser
, Georges Wolinski
, Georges "Gébé" Blondeaux, and Jean "Cabu" Cabut
. 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.
The publication was banned in 1961, but reappeared in 1966. Certain collaborators did not return along with the newspaper, such as Blondeaux, Cabut, Topor, and Aristidès. New members of the team included Delfeil de Ton, Pierre Fournier, and Bernhard Willem Holtrop.
was launched, and then renamed L'Hebdo Hara-Kiri in May of the same year.
In November 1970, Charles de Gaulle
died in his home village of Colombey, ten days before a club fire
caused the death of 146. The magazine released a cover spoofing the popular press's coverage of this disaster, headlined "Tragic Ball at Colombey, one dead." As a result, the journal was once more banned, this time by the Minister of the Interior.
In order to side-step the ban, the team decided to change its title, and used Charlie Hebdo. The new name was derived from a monthly comics magazine called Charlie Mensuel
(Charlie Monthly), which had been started by Bernier and de Ton in 1968. Charlie took its name from Charlie Brown
, the lead character of Peanuts
, and was possibly also a nod to Charles de Gaulle.
In December 1981, the publication ceased, owing to a lack of readers.
. 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.
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.
A later edition contained a statement by a group of 12 writers warning against Islamism
- Islam
ic totalitarianism.
Future president Nicholas Sarkozy sent a letter to be read in court expressing his support for the ancient French tradition of satire. François Bayrou
and 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.
On March 22, 2007 executive editor Philippe Val was acquitted by the court. 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.
leads to accusation of antisemitism and Siné's sacking by Val. Siné launches a rival paper called Siné Hebdo which lasts two years.
Charlie Hebdo launches its Internet site, after years of reluctance from Val.
, a public radio station to which he has contributed since the early 1990s. His functions are split between two cartoonists, Charb (Stéphane Charbonnier) and Riss (Laurent Sourisseau). Val gives away his shares in 2011.
Hebdo", with the Prophet Mohammed listed as the "editor-in-chief". 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." François Fillon
, the prime minister, and Claude Guéant
, the interior minister, voiced support for Charlie Hebdo., as did feminist writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali
who criticised calls for self-censorship.
François Cavanna
François Cavanna is a French author and satirical newspaper editor.He contributed to the creation and success of Hara-Kiri and Charlie Hebdo...
(1969-1981) and Philippe Val
Philippe Val
Philippe Val is a French singer, comedian and journalist who is currently director of France Inter. He previously was the editor and director of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical political weekly newspaper.-Life and career:...
(1992-2009). Irreverent and stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has a strongly left-wing, anarchist slant.
The magazine is published every Wednesday, with special editions issued on an unscheduled basis.
History
In 1960, Georges BernierGeorges Bernier
Georges Bernier , more commonly known as Le Professeur Choron, was a French humorist and founder of Hara Kiri magazine.-Early years:...
, and François Cavanna
François Cavanna
François Cavanna is a French author and satirical newspaper editor.He contributed to the creation and success of Hara-Kiri and Charlie Hebdo...
launched a monthly magazine entitled Hara-Kiri
Hara-Kiri (magazine)
In 1960, Georges Bernier, Cavanna and Fred Aristidès created the monthly satirical magazine Hara-Kiri. Hara Kiri Hebdo, its weekly counterpart, was first published in 1969....
. Choron acted as the director of publication and Cavanna as its editor. Eventually Cavanna gathered together a team which included Roland Topor
Roland Topor
Roland Topor , was a French illustrator, painter, writer and filmmaker, known for the surreal nature of his work...
, Fred Othon Aristidès, Jean-Marc Reiser
Jean-Marc Reiser
Jean-Marc Reiser, April 13, 1941 in Réhon was a French comics creator. He died November 5, 1983 in Paris, of bone cancer.-Biography:...
, Georges Wolinski
Georges Wolinski
Georges Wolinski is a French cartoonist and comics writer.-Biography:After discontinuing his architecture studies in Paris, Georges Wolinski began cartooning in 1960, contributing political and erotic cartoons and comic strips to the satirical monthly Hara-Kiri.During the student revolts of May...
, Georges "Gébé" Blondeaux, and Jean "Cabu" Cabut
Cabu
Cabu is a French comic strip artist and caricaturist.He started out studying art at the École Estienne in Paris and his drawings were first published by 1954 in a local newspaper...
. 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.
The publication was banned in 1961, but reappeared in 1966. Certain collaborators did not return along with the newspaper, such as Blondeaux, Cabut, Topor, and Aristidès. New members of the team included Delfeil de Ton, Pierre Fournier, and Bernhard Willem Holtrop.
1969–1981
In 1969, the team decided to produce a weekly publication as well as a monthly magazine. Gébé and Cabu returned. In February 1969, Hara-Kiri HebdoHara-Kiri (magazine)
In 1960, Georges Bernier, Cavanna and Fred Aristidès created the monthly satirical magazine Hara-Kiri. Hara Kiri Hebdo, its weekly counterpart, was first published in 1969....
was launched, and then renamed L'Hebdo Hara-Kiri in May of the same year.
In November 1970, Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
died in his home village of Colombey, ten days before a club fire
Club Cinq-Sept fire
The Club Cinq-Sept fire was a major disaster which took place in south-eastern France on Sunday, 1 November 1970. 146 people, almost all of them aged between 17 and 30, died when a nightclub just outside the small town of Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, Isère was completely destroyed in a catastrophic...
caused the death of 146. The magazine released a cover spoofing the popular press's coverage of this disaster, headlined "Tragic Ball at Colombey, one dead." As a result, the journal was once more banned, this time by the Minister of the Interior.
In order to side-step the ban, the team decided to change its title, and used Charlie Hebdo. The new name was derived from a monthly comics magazine called Charlie Mensuel
Charlie Mensuel
Charlie Mensuel was a French monthly comics magazine. Its publication began in February 1969, and ceased in February 1986.-History:...
(Charlie Monthly), which had been started by Bernier and de Ton in 1968. Charlie took its name from Charlie Brown
Charlie Brown
Charles "Charlie" Brown is the protagonist in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.Charlie Brown and his creator have a common connection in that they are both the sons of barbers, but whereas Schulz's work is described as the "most shining example of the American success story", Charlie...
, the lead character of Peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
, and was possibly also a nod to Charles de Gaulle.
In December 1981, the publication ceased, owing to a lack of readers.
1992
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 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 SéchanRenaud Séchan
Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan, known as Renaud, born in Paris on 11 May 1952, is a popular French singer, songwriter and actor. His characteristically 'broken' voice makes for a very distinctive vocal style...
. 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.
2004
Following the death of Gébé, Val succeeded him as director of the publication, while still holding his position as editor.2006
Controversy arose over the publication's February 9, 2006 edition. Under the title "Mahomet débordé par les intégristes" ("Muhammad overwhelmed by fundamentalists"), the front page showed a cartoon of a weeping Prophet Muhammad saying "C'est dur d'être aimé par des cons" ("it's hard to be loved by jerks"). The newspaper reprinted the twelve cartoons of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversyJyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
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
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
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
Muslim World League
The Muslim World League is one of the largest Islamic non-governmental organizations. Muslim religious figures from 22 states founded it in Makkah in 1962.-Structure:...
and the Union of French Islamic Organisations
Union of Islamic Organisations of France
The Union des organisations islamiques de France is a prominent Muslim umbrella organization, and the French chapter of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe...
(UOIF) sued, claiming the cartoon edition included racist cartoons.
A later edition contained a statement by a group of 12 writers warning against Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
- Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic totalitarianism.
2007
The suit by the Grand Mosque and the UOIF reached the courts in February. 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."Future president Nicholas Sarkozy sent a letter to be read in court expressing his support for the ancient French tradition of satire. François Bayrou
François Bayrou
François Bayrou is a French centrist politician, president of Union for French Democracy since 1998 and was a candidate in the 2002 and 2007 French presidential elections. In the first round, he received 18.6% of the vote, finishing in 3rd place and therefore was eliminated from the race....
and François Hollande
François Hollande
François Gérard Georges Hollande is a French politician. From 1997 to 2008, he was the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party. He has also served as a Deputy of the National Assembly of France, representing the first constituency of Corrèze, since 1997. He previously represented that seat...
also expressed their support for freedom of expression. The French Council of the Muslim Faith
French Council of the Muslim Faith
The French Council of the Muslim Faith , is a national elected body, to serve as an official interlocutor with the French state in the regulation of Muslim religious activities. It is a non-profit group created on 28 May 2003, consisting of 25 CRCMs...
(CFCM) criticized the expression of these sentiments, claiming they were politicizing a court case.
On March 22, 2007 executive editor Philippe Val was acquitted by the court. 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.
2008
A controversy over a column by veteran cartoonist SinéSiné
Maurice Sinet , known as Siné, is a French cartoonist.As a young man he studied drawing and graphic arts, while earning a living as a cabaret singer. After his military service he started publishing his drawings and also worked as a photo-retoucher for porn magazines. His first published drawing...
leads to accusation of antisemitism and Siné's sacking by Val. Siné launches a rival paper called Siné Hebdo which lasts two years.
Charlie Hebdo launches its Internet site, after years of reluctance from Val.
2009
Philippe Val resigns after being appointed director of France InterFrance Inter
France Inter is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a "generalist" station, aiming to provide a wide national audience with a full service of news and intelligent spoken-word programming, both serious and entertaining, liberally punctuated with an eclectic mix of...
, a public radio station to which he has contributed since the early 1990s. His functions are split between two cartoonists, Charb (Stéphane Charbonnier) and Riss (Laurent Sourisseau). Val gives away his shares in 2011.
2011
In the early hours of November 2, 2011 the newspaper's office in the 20th arrondissement was fire-bombed and its website hacked. The attacks were presumed linked to its decision to rename a special edition "ChariaSharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
Hebdo", with the Prophet Mohammed listed as the "editor-in-chief". 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
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
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
Mohammed Moussaoui
Mohammed Moussaoui is the president of the French Council of Muslim Faith.As of 2008 he is naturalizing as a citizen of France.On August 2, 2011 he gave an interview with French radio station RTL, where he stated that there are nearly 150 new mosques under construction in France, and that there are...
, head of the French Council of the Muslim Faith
French Council of the Muslim Faith
The French Council of the Muslim Faith , is a national elected body, to serve as an official interlocutor with the French state in the regulation of Muslim religious activities. It is a non-profit group created on 28 May 2003, consisting of 25 CRCMs...
, 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." François Fillon
François Fillon
François Charles Armand Fillon is the Prime Minister of France. He was appointed to that office by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007. He served initially until 13 November 2010 when he resigned from being prime minister before a planned cabinet reshuffle.On 14 November 2010, Sarkozy...
, the prime minister, and Claude Guéant
Claude Guéant
Claude Guéant is a French civil servant. The former Chief of Staff to Nicolas Sarkozy, he has been Minister of the Interior since 27 February 2011. He is a member of the conservative Union for a Popular Movement .-Biography:...
, the interior minister, voiced support for Charlie Hebdo., as did feminist writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Magan Ali is a Somali-Dutch feminist and atheist activist, writer, politician who strongly opposes circumcision and female genital cutting. She is the daughter of the Somali politician and opposition leader Hirsi Magan Isse and is a founder of the women's rights organisation the AHA...
who criticised calls for self-censorship.
See also
- Le Canard enchaînéLe Canard enchaînéLe Canard enchaîné is a satirical newspaper published weekly in France. Founded in 1915, it features investigative journalism and leaks from sources inside the French government, the French political world and the French business world, as well as many jokes and humorous cartoons.-Early...
, a satirical weekly French newspaper
External links
- Charlie Hebdo
- Un historique d'Hara-Kiri/Charlie Hebdo
- French Satirical Newspaper Charlie Hebdo Wins Second Trial Over Controversial Cartoon Ban Request
- Schofield, Hugh. "Charlie Hebdo and its place in French journalism." BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. 3 November 2011.