‘We Must Speak without Fear’ | Charlie Hebdo’s Gérard Biard on Islamism, Free Speech and Courage

Jan 7, 2025 | On 7 January 2015, two Islamist terrorists, armed with Kalashnikovs, burst into the offices of Charlie Hebdo. 12 people were murdered, eight of them writers and cartoonists at the left-wing, satirical newspaper. Charlie’s supposed crime? It had published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The massacre sparked outpourings of solidarity, but also a cowardly, censorious backlash. Many decried the killings, but decried Charlie’s supposed ‘provocations’, too. 10 years on from the massacre, spiked went to Paris to meet with Gérard Biard, Charlie’s editor-in-chief. We discussed the attack, the fight for free speech and the crucial importance of courage.