--- title: Charlie Hebdo Writer on the French Terror Attacks description: A journalist with the French satirical newspaper talks about the unimaginable loss of so many slain colleagues and the future of his publication canonical: https://time.com/3658358/paris-terror-attack-charlie-hebdo-mohamed/ author: Coralie Schaub article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-07T22:00:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:06.076Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 'Charlie Hebdo' Journalist: 'We Knew That the Threat Was Real' og:description: "'Charlie' had a mission, supported by some, opposed by others" og:url: https://time.com/3658358/paris-terror-attack-charlie-hebdo-mohamed/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ee8692694c9d1f3/698778a6f887dc64b4e8961a/antonio-fischetti.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4188 og:image:height: 2356 og:image:alt: Cartoonist Antonio Fischetti answers to og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Charlie Hebdo' Journalist: 'We Knew That the Threat Was Real' twitter:description: "'Charlie' had a mission, supported by some, opposed by others" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ee8692694c9d1f3/698778a6f887dc64b4e8961a/antonio-fischetti.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _Charlie Hebdo_ Writer: 'We Knew That the Threat Was Real' > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=c0a60817-3530-4fef-ba99-cb0a4dc5e2d0&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Know Right Now: Paris Gunmen Killed, Hostages Freed [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Paris Gunmen Killed, Hostages Freed](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/WZdnXsGV.m3u8) (1:03)  _Published 2015-01-07. Watch #knowrightnow to catch up on today's top story._ by [Coralie Schaub](https://time.com/author/coralie-schaub/) ## Coralie Schaub Jan 7, 2015 10:00 PM UTC  Cartoonist Antonio Fischetti speaks to journalists in front of the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Nov. 2, 2011, in Paris after they were destroyed by a petrol-bomb attack overnight Cartoonist Antonio Fischetti speaks to journalists in front of the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Nov. 2, 2011, in Paris after they were destroyed by a petrol-bomb attack overnight Alexander Klein—AFP/Getty Images by [Coralie Schaub](https://time.com/author/coralie-schaub/) ## Coralie Schaub Jan 7, 2015 10:00 PM UTC _Just after the_ [_attack_](http://time.com/3657314/paris-shooting-charlie-hebdo/) _that left at least 12 people dead at the offices of the French satirical newspaper_ Charlie Hebdo_, Antonio Fischetti, a journalist for the paper, spoke with Coralie Schaub, a_ [Libération](http://www.liberation.fr/) _staff reporter. His remarks follow:_ “We knew that the threat was real, but we weren’t paranoid. Threats against _Charlie_ were recurrent, continual, habitual. There weren’t more recently, and the vigilance had been relaxed. After [the fire that destroyed our offices in 2011](http://world.time.com/2011/11/02/firebombed-french-paper-a-victim-of-islamistsor-its-own-obnoxious-islamophobia/) \[the paper was firebombed after publishing cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad in what Islamist groups said was an act of revenge\], there has been a police car outside in front of the paper. At first, it was there all the time, and then during the editorial meeting on Wednesday mornings. But for some time, a month or two, it hasn’t been there. The attackers must have noticed. They really waited for the right moment. Even though there was a code to enter the building, even though you had to know that the newspaper was on the second floor, it was easier to get in to our current offices on Nicolas-Appert Street than it was at our previous location, on Serpollet Street. Charb \[editor in chief, Stéphane Charbonnier\] still had his two bodyguards. When he came to have dinner with me, we joked a little about them. I asked him: ‘Well, where did you leave your two bodyguards?’ Once he took a taxi without them. The driver recognized him and asked him to get out right away. The bodyguard told him to never take a taxi alone. He even went on vacation with the guards. We all said that someone a little crazy and determined, with a Kalashnikov, could go after _Charlie_. We all knew that Charb might be targeted, he had already been directly targeted by al-Qaeda on the Internet. The idea that we could be killed one day was always in our minds. But carnage of this magnitude, with the desire to kill everyone … The miracles are those who were late \[to work\], like Luz \[Renald Luzier\] or Catherine Meurisse. Or absent like me — I was at a funeral outside Paris. We were friends, not just colleagues. I was particularly close to Charb and Tignous. They wanted to completely eradicate a newspaper. This is not ‘just’ kill the editor. There are no words. This is really an act of war. All for drawings … they are sick. _Charlie_ had a mission, supported by some, opposed by others. I am even more aware today how important this fight is. We were all in agreement that we should not give in. But they decided to eradicate this symbol of freedom that was _Charlie_ … I talk about it in the past, because I do not see how the newspaper can survive this. _Charlie_ was a newspaper of cartoonists. The writers, like me, are interchangeable. Them not. The Charbs, Tignous, Wolinskis — there are not even 50 like them. Not to mention Cabu.” _This account was excerpted and translated, with permission, from an article that originally appeared in_ Libération _on Jan. 7\. You can read the original story_ [_here_](http://www.liberation.fr/societe/2015/01/07/antonio-fischetti-charlie-hebdo-ces-derniers-temps-la-vigilance-s-etait-relachee%5F1175422)_._ ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] France is shocked today. A shock of an attack. A terrorist attack, there's no doubt about that. [ MUSIC ] We're gonna use our resources to work with the French. To investigate exactly what happened. 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