The attack on Charlie Hebdo on January 7, 2015, will mark ten years this Tuesday, and constitutes a turning point. That day, almost the entire editorial staff of a satirical newspaper fell under the bullets of two fanaticized terrorists. For having published caricatures of the prophet, in solidarity with a Danish newspaper, this French publication, anarchist and adoring “to eat the priest”, was overtaken by the globalization of Islamist hatred. The shock was immense in a country where freedom of expression seemed acquired and where the right to blasphemy sometimes caused uproar, but never violent.
Since January 7, obscenity was no longer symbolized by a “stupid and nasty” drawing, but embodied by cold-blooded assassination, mass killings, and intolerance elevated to the level of murderous justification. As far as terrorism is concerned, this was only the beginning. The attacks of November 13, the same year, continued the nightmare, like that of July 14 in Nice or the death of Samuel Paty. With Charlie, human life has lost its value. The right to speak too. Since then, the debate has moved to social networks. Caricature, offense, humor and derision are not invited. We are in a world where falsehood is so much more effective than truth since it does not need to be proven. The brutality of words and images is delivered to the face at a frantic pace, abolishing reflection in favor of emotion. So far from Charlie.
