BBC: Many French newspapers have rushed to the defence of Charlie Hebdo after the weekly satirical paper published cartoons showing the Prophet Muhammad.
Others, however, accuse the paper of acting irresponsibly in the current context and run front-page headlines warning of the consequences.
'Sacred right'
A front-page editorial in the centre-left daily Le Monde says the "fundamental" principle of freedom of expression outweighs any other concerns, including religious ones.
The fact that religions may be subjected not just to criticism but also to ridicule has been "clear since Voltaire", it says.
"Whatever people may think of Charlie Hebdo's editorial choices... the only conceivable limit to its freedom is that which the courts might judge to be justified," the paper concludes.
The left-leaning Liberation takes a similar stand, asking "Blasphemy - a sacred right?" in its front-page headline.
"Appealing to the sense of responsibility of cartoonists, asking them to think twice before publishing, exhorting them to take into account the geopolitical context as if they were the foreign ministry spokesperson means getting caught up in a cycle whose first stage is self-censorship and the last, capitulation," an editorial by Nicolas Demorand warns.
An editorial in the regional daily L'Est Republicain insists that "the freedom of expression suffers no exception" other than the limits imposed by the law.
Ivan Drapeau in La Charente Libre ventures that Charlie Hebdo "has not broken the law, has not disturbed public order, has not incited to hatred or discrimination and has not undermined respect for people". » | Thursday, September 20, 2012
