France unveils plaque to honor Charlie Hebdo victims, misspells famous slain cartoonist's name

French plaque to commemorate Charlie Hebdo victims misspells cartoonist name

(Image credit: Benoit Tessier/AFP/Getty Images)

published 5 January 2016

On Tuesday, almost a year after Islamist gunmen murdered 11 people in a terrorist attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, French President Francois Hollande and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo were on hand to unveil a plaque to commemorate the cartoonists and editors killed in the massacre.

Unfortunately, as attendees quickly noticed, famous cartoonist Georges Wolinski's last name was spelled Wolinsky on the plaque, so the plaque was quickly covered in black for a do-over. Wolinski, Charlie Hebdo editor in chief from 1971 to 1980 and a recipient of the Legion of Honor in 2005, had signed his cartoons with his last name. Hidalgo's office blamed the grande faux pas on the engraving company.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.