Charlie Hebdo: ‘They have weapons. We have champagne.’

This week’s Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical weekly that was brutally attacked in January, mixes poignancy and defiance in its response to Friday’s jihadist assault on Paris.

The much awaited cover for the edition to appear Wednesday, by cartoonist Coco, depicts a dancing reveller, bottle and glass in hand, with champagne pouring out of holes in his body.

The periodical was the target of a deadly terror attack by jihadists almost a year ago, meant as revenge for a caricature of the prophet Mohammed. “F*** them, we have the champagne”, reads the cover headline. After the attack on Bataclan, which is just blocks away from the Charlie Hebdo offices, cartoonist Johann Sfar posted a cartoon to his Instagram encouraging people not to pray for Paris, saying “we don’t need more religion”.

“They have weapons. F-k them”. Five others were killed in several related attacks throughout the capital, including a hostage-taking situation at a Kosher market. Vanity Fair reported in July that Charlie Hebdo had raked in millions of dollars in donations and sales following the attack.

In the wake of Friday’s assaults on numerous locations in Paris for which the Islamic extremist group ISIS has taken credit, Charlie Hebdo is demonstrating that it has no plans to back down and stands fully for France and French culture.