As tragic as the Paris attacks were, France needs to do some soul searching before it can move on, as do we all.
Within hours of the first terrorist attacks in Paris, the hash tag “#jesuischarlie” (I am Charlie) began to rapidly trend on Twitter. As the violence continued for two more days, the hash tag was retweeted more than three million times. Among those killed at Charlie Hebdo were well-loved political cartoonists – cultural celebrities who lampooned all religious and political figures. Although they produced a particularly extreme and quite tasteless brand of satire, most French people accepted it as part of their culture; the cartoonists were national icons that generations in France had grown up with.
Initially at least, “Je Suis Charlie” was the spontaneous outpouring of solidarity in reaction to their shocking deaths. Later, the press was quick to characterise the killing as an attack on freedom of expression.
