Journalists and cartoonists who survived Wednesday’s massacre at satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo went back to work Friday, to put out a new issue of the weekly paper.
A total of 25 journalists gathered at the headquarters of left-leaning daily newspaper Libération to start work on an eight-page issue that is set to be printed 1 million times for a Wednesday distribution. Charlie Hebdo’s normal circulation is about 30,000, according to the New York Times, and usually runs to 16 pages.
Attackers killed eight members of the magazine’s staff in Wednesday’s attack, including editor-in-chief Stéphane Charbonnier. Another senior editor was reportedly in London at the time of the attack.
Richard Malka, a lawyer for Charlie Hebdo, ushered the journalists into a special office set up for them at Libération before addressing the media waiting outside. “We are touched by your being here and your support but we have an issue to create in the conditions that you know,” he said, according to Libération. “We need to meet in private. What we have to say, we’ll say it in eight pages. The strength and the heart we have left, we’ll put it in these eight pages. What’s urgent now is this next issue of Charlie Hebdo.”
Prime Minister Manuel Valls met with journalists to “offer solidarity” and encourage them to get back to work. “The strongest response is to say, ‘let’s continue,'” he said.
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