A Wednesday attack at the Paris headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine, has left at least a dozen dead, prompting several major French media outlets — including Huffington Post France — to issue a joint statement. And their message to the attackers is clear: We will not yield.
"In difficult times today, and in the dark days to come, it is vital that freedom continues to be expressed, and spoken," the statement reads. "We will continue our work of providing information and bearing witness, with greater determination and energy than ever before."
Paul Ackermann, the editor-in-chief of Huffington Post France, said the attack has sent a shockwave among members of the French press.
"There's lots of emotions on the streets of Paris and online," said Ackermann in the video clip above. "Right now it's the emotions that are bigger than the security questions."
Among French publications, Charlie Hebdo stood out for their willingness to take on political topics, particularly Muslim extremists. Its offices were firebombed in 2011 after an issue featured a caricature of the prophet Muhammad on its cover, but no one was injured.
Ackermann says Wednesday's shooting could spread confusion among those in France who might perceive the attack as an act by a religion, rather than the actions of a radicalized group.
"This terrible attack arrived at the worst moment because the situation is really, really bad around the topic of extreme Islamism and people mix it with regular Muslim people," said Ackermann.
Among those killed in Wednesday's shooting was Stéphane Charbonnier, better known as "Charb", the publication's editor-in-chief. The masked gunmen also killed French artists, Cabu, Wolinski and Tignous.
"Like the three biggest names in drawing the news have died in the same day," said Ackermann.
French police are still on the hunt for the gunmen while other media organizations have been told to be on guard against similar attacks.
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