On January 7, 2015, an Islamist attack struck Charlie Hebdo. Twelve people, including eight members of the editorial staff, lost their lives in the attack on the satirical weekly by the brothers Chérif and Saïd Kouachi, Frenchmen of Algerian origin who had pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda. Other Islamist attacks near Paris then cost the life of a policewoman the next day in Montrouge, then of four people of Jewish faith in a kosher store at Porte de Vincennes on January 9. After two days of tracking, the Kouachi brothers were shot dead by an intervention team from the GIGN, the elite group of the French gendarmerie, in a printing works in Dammartin-en-Goële (Seine-et-Marne), where they had retreated.
Having become a global symbol of freedom of expression, millions of people gathered on January 11, 2015 across France to pay tribute to the victims and defend freedom of expression. Ten years later, a series of tributes is planned throughout the week which opens this Monday.
A special issue of Charlie Hebdo
Ten years to the day after the killing of January 7, 2015, Charlie A special 32-page issue comes out on Tuesday. He will publish caricatures on God selected as part of an international competition launched at the end of 2024. “They did not kill Charlie Hebdo” and “we want it to last 1,000 years,” said one of its figures, editor-in-chief Gérard Biard.
On Saturday, the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati indicated on X that she would present on February 7 the architectural project of the House of Press Cartoons promised for 2027, which has been delayed.
Commemorations in Paris with Macron
The City of Paris will pay tribute to the victims of the attacks on Tuesday. The commemorations will be “like every year” marked “by sobriety, in accordance with the wishes of the families”, indicated the Paris town hall. Anne Hidalgo, “will pay tribute to the victims […] in the presence of the President of the Republic” and “several ministers”.
Broadcast live on France 2, these commemorations will begin at 11:30 a.m. rue Nicolas-Appert in the 11th arrondissement, where Charlie Hebdo had its premises in 2015. They will continue on Boulevard Richard Lenoir, where police officer Ahmed Merabet was shot dead by the Kouachis as they fled. They will end at 1:10 p.m. with a tribute to the victims of the Hyper Cacher store.
Events in several cities
Paris will not be the only city to pay tribute to the victims. On Wednesday, the city of Montrouge will organize a tribute ceremony to municipal police officer Clarissa Jean-Philippe, killed by Amedy Coulibaly, also author of the Hyper Cacher attack. And elsewhere in France, many regions and large cities have also planned times of tribute. This is the case of the Occitanie Region, which organizes a time of tributes, exchanges and artistic expression all week long to “bring the Charlie spirit to life”. In Reims, a gathering is planned for Tuesday at 11 a.m.
TV shows
The television channels have also planned to pay tribute to the victims of the January 2015 attacks, by devoting several programs to them. From this Monday evening, M6 will broadcast the documentary at 9:10 p.m. 2015 attacks. What binds uswhich gives a voice to those who experienced the events on the front line (survivors, law enforcement, doctors, ministers, etc.).
On TMC and the TF1+ platform, the show 21H averages by Julien Bellver will focus this Monday evening on these attacks of January 2015, The horror in France.
France 2 is planning special programming on January 7 with a day devoted to commemorations. After the 8 p.m. news, Caroline Roux will host the show Charlie Hebdo, 10 years later: can we still say everything?. The show will be followed by the broadcast of the film The test of a lifetime. Michel Catalano against the Kouachi at 11:15 p.m. This man had been held hostage for several hours by the terrorists in his printing works in Dammartin-en-Goële.
At 12:05 a.m., the documentary Charlie, against all odds will return to the rebirth of Charlie Hebdo after 2015 and the continuation of the editorial work. The same day the documentary film by Riss, publishing director of Charlie Hebdo, will be available on the france.tv platform, So let them be.
