With demand surging for the edition due on Wednesday, the weekly
planned to print up to 3 million copies, dwarfing its usual run of
60,000, after newsagents reported that large numbers of customers
around the country were placing orders.
France has drafted in thousands of extra police and soldiers to
provide security after 17 people were killed in three days of
violence that began when two Islamist gunmen burst into Charlie
Hebdo's offices, opening fire in revenge for the paper's publication
of satirical images of Mohammad in the past.
The paper said the front page of its Jan. 14 edition would display a
tearful Mohammad with a sign saying "Je suis Charlie" (I am Charlie)
below the headline: "Tout est pardonné" (All is forgiven).
The new edition of Charlie Hebdo, known for its satirical attacks on
Islam and other religions, will include other cartoons featuring the
Prophet Mohammad and also making fun of politicians and other
religions, its lawyer said.
"We will not back down, otherwise none of this has any meaning,"
Richard Malka told French radio. "If you hold the banner 'I am
Charlie', that means you have the right to blaspheme, you have the
right to criticize my religion."
One newspaper vendor in central Paris said he had already received
200 advance orders for Charlie Hebdo and was stopping there as he
could no longer cope.
There was no official reaction from the government on the weekly's
decision.
President Francois Hollande led a Paris ceremony to pay last
respects to the three police officers, including one Muslim, who
were killed in last week's violence. A separate funeral was held in
Jerusalem for four Jewish victims of a hostage-taking in a kosher
deli in Paris.
Hollande said the police officer posted in Hebdo's offices died
defending a freedom of expression based on "an insolence, an
impertinence which expresses an independence".
On Sunday, at least 3.7 million people throughout France took part
in marches of support for Charlie Hebdo and freedom of expression.
World leaders linked arms to lead more than a million people through
Paris in an unprecedented homage to the victims.
GUN BATTLE
Three days of violence ended on Friday with a siege at a Jewish deli
in Paris where four hostages and a gunman were killed. Shortly
before, police killed the Hebdo attackers in a gun battle at a print
works northwest of the city.
In the wake of the violence, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian
said 10,000 troops were being deployed at sensitive sites including
synagogues, mosques and airports.
Hollande's government has avoided referring to the Maghreb and
African roots of the three killers. It has also sought to discredit
their claim to be acting in the name of Islam, calling them
"fanatics".
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However, France's Islamic council called on the government to step
up protection of mosques, saying that at least 50 anti-Islamic acts
had been reported since the attack.
Abdallah Zekri, head of the National Observatory against
Islamophobia, said Muslim sites such as Paris's main mosque were not
getting the same level of security as Jewish synagogues and schools.
"There are websites out there calling for the murder of Muslim
leaders and the torching of Muslim religious sites," he told France
Info. "Let's stop the double standards."
European leaders are worried that the events in France will add to
rising anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe.
On Monday, a record 25,000 anti-Islamist protesters marched through
the German city of Dresden, many holding banners with anti-immigrant
slogans.
In light of the threat, Le Drian said the government would need to
review some of its military capabilities, including the role of the
army reserves.
He also raised the prospect of reconsidering the severely strained
military budget when its long-term spending plan comes up for review
later this year in parliament.
The French government was due to seek parliament's approval for
France's participation in air raids against Islamic State in Iraq.
One of last week's killers cited France's military strikes against
Muslims as a motivation for his acts.
"The response is inside and outside France. Islamic State is a
terrorist army with fighters from everywhere ... it is an
international army that has to be wiped out and that is why we are
part of the coalition," Le Drian told Europe 1 radio.
Under French law, the president can launch foreign military action,
but must seek parliament's approval four months into an operation if
it is to continue.
(Additional reporting by Mark John, John Irish and Dominique
Vidalon; writing by Mark John; editing by Giles Elgood)
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