French President Hollande defends freedom of speech against anti-Charlie Hebdo protests

(Image credit: Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images)

published 17 January 2015

French President Francois Hollande defended the most recent Charlie Hebdo cover, which featured a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad and sparked violent protests abroad, Reuters reports.

"We've supported these countries in the fight against terrorism," Hollande said on Saturday. "I still want to express my solidarity, but at the same time, France has principles and values, in particular freedom of expression."

The satirical French magazine's most recent cover was its first since two gunmen attacked the publication's offices and murdered 12 people. Demand for the issue dwarfed Charlie Hebdo's usual print run of 60,000 — the magazine's distributors said it had circulated seven million copies. But the cover's cartoon of Mohammad sparked protests in some Muslim countries, including Algeria, Niger, and Pakistan.

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Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.