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French Media, Public Rally Behind 'Charlie Hebdo'

Pens are thrown on the ground during a vigil in Paris following a deadly attack at the offices of <em>Charlie Hebdo</em>, the weekly satirical magazine.
Dan Kitwood
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Getty Images
Pens are thrown on the ground during a vigil in Paris following a deadly attack at the offices of Charlie Hebdo, the weekly satirical magazine.

This much is certain: Charlie Hebdo will live another day.

The magazine, which was the target of a deadly attack Wednesday, will be kept going through financial and editorial backing from some of France's largest media groups.

Luc Bronner, a top editor at Le Monde, a leading French newspaper, tweeted a joint letter from Groupe Le Monde, which owns Le Monde, as well as public broadcasters Radio France and France Televisions.

The letter says the three media organizations are offering Charlie Hebdo their equipment and staff to ensure the magazine continues to publish. It also invites other French media organization to join the effort to "preserve the principles of editorial independence and freedom of thought — principles that are fundamental to our democracy."

Although there have been expressions of solidarity for the weekly satirical magazine across France, the letter is so far the most direct offer of support.

Journalists across France observed a minute of silence and held placards that said "Je Suis Charlie." (I Am Charlie.) Here's an image from the Agence France-Presse newsroom.

There also have been massive rallies in Paris, where the gunmen who carried out the attack are still at large, to express solidarity with Charlie Hebdo.

Similar rallies were held in other French cities and across Europe.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Krishnadev Calamur is NPR's deputy Washington editor. In this role, he helps oversee planning of the Washington desk's news coverage. He also edits NPR's Supreme Court coverage. Previously, Calamur was an editor and staff writer at The Atlantic. This is his second stint at NPR, having previously worked on NPR's website from 2008-15. Calamur received an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri.