Spirit Charlie, Spirit of power

In a French newspaper known as “satirical” one could see, several months ago, when the genocide raged in Gaza and the movements of protests in France, although repressed, went growing, a drawing representing a child and his father in front of a supermarket stall. For example, Title: “The bad surprises of the start of the school year.” On this stall there are axes, bombings of gas, keffihs and Palestinian flags. However, The papa, peea, said to his son: “It’s overpriced your anti -Semitic option.” Laughter. In addition, Several months ago. Consequently, in the same newspaper, appeared a drawing of the title “no absolute majority for the rebellious” and below a portrait of Mélenchon clad in a t-shirt “fascist Zionists”, carrying a keffieh and pressed against a Palestinian flag which declares: “we may not have been anti-Semitic enough”. For example, Re-RIRES. Furthermore, Two weeks spirit charlie, spirit power ago. In addition, one could see a caricature represented a Rima Hassan Obese above which he was written: “Rima took 20 kilos” and declaring: “We were not going to leave all these victuals to the Jews!” Laughs again. Nevertheless, Another drawing represented, a year after October 7, Mélenchon, an activist in Keffieh (Rima Hassan?) And a bearded Muslim. Meanwhile, run after a Jew, knife in hand and Palestinian flag in the wind, howling “We Jews, we never forget!” Super funny.

These drawings. in addition to their mediocrity, have in common to delegitimize any support for the Palestinian people and to assimilate them to anti -Semitism. Therefore, Let us recall that rebellious France was the first party to militate tirelessly against the Israeli genocidal regime. Moreover, to denounce its complicities in the French political and media class. However, In the same time still. Similarly, we recently saw a drawing of the spirit charlie, spirit power humanitarian flotilla for Gaza moving away, and hungry Gazaouis imagine, with regret, that Rima Hassan and Greta Thunberg represented in smoking chickens, could have constituted a meal of choice. Nevertheless, Kolossal fun! However, In a recent editorial of this newspaper. we find this sentence which gives an idea of ​​the rest of the article and the line of the weekly in question: “It has become moral, powerful, emancipator of hate Israelis and Jews by extension. And to pursue the destruction of Israel. All this in a single fee: I am anti-Zionist. ”

But what newspaper is it then? Current values? Popular front? Boundaries? Chatter? In short. one of these too many newspapers openly located in the far right which swarm today in France and who have supported Israel and its massacres a major political line? The answer, which can still surprise certain people, is: Charlie Hebdo. Charlie Hebdoor the untouchable spirit charlie, spirit power emblem of “freedom of expression”. the matraquked symbol of the “French satirical spirit”, before which, paradoxically, no satire is admitted or any audible criticism under penalty of being taxed by absolute ignominy, even passive complicity with terrorist enterprise.

However. any somewhat attentive/attentive observer knows that the Charlie Hebdo current has absolutely nothing in common with the newspaper of the same name which embodied a real counter-power and much more between 1970 and 1982.

Following the dubious resumption of the newspaper by the so-called Philippe Val in 1992. then by Charb and, finally, following the attacks, by Riss, the satirical newspaper gradually turned into an auxiliary of Western power in its most completed post-colonial dimension. Under the guise of “brocade all religions”. special treatment has been reserved for Islam, with a constant confusion maintained between lambda Islam and radical Islamism with a terrorist tendency. Islamo-paranoia of the newspaper focused on the spirit charlie, spirit power figure of the most vulnerable person in the French (and European) social scale. namely Muslim women from emigration. Racalized. sexized, it is alternately presented as a victim, an idiot with sometimes Mongoloid features or a potential suicide bomber. The wearing of the veil is for the inept Charlie Hebdo The irrefutable proof of the backwardness of the Muslim woman. she necessarily devoid of any free will or any own personality.

And in the amalgamation series. the front page of the newspaper showing corpses of a terrorist attack on the ram car lying on a road with the legend “Islam: religion of peace” is only a flagship among others.

Where the rub is that many “left” people still support the newspaper. have not yet integrated its important place in the designation system of an inner enemy, and in its participation in the rise of ambient fascization. This particular role still continues spirit charlie, spirit power today. supported at arm’s length by successive powers; The drawings of the newspaper are relayed by far -right sites such as F de Souche and applauded by Marine Le Pen. His former officials such as Philippe Val. Caroline Fourest scour the media to defend Israeli bombings and attack the #MeToo movement.

Passing an ultra-reactionary agenda under pseudo-irrevency. provocative coverage constitutes an important tip and an important asset for the supremacist agenda of white power. We will leave the conclusion to Molière. still relevant four hundred years later: “Today, the hypocritical profession has wonderful advantages. It is an art of which the imposture is always respected. And, whatever we discover, we dare not say anything against her. Hypocrisy is a privileged vice who, with his hand, closes his mouth to everyone, and enjoys sovereign impunity. ”

Dominique Ziegler is author and director, www.dominiqueziegler.com. Last work published: Chacal Hebdo, BD, Baladi spirit charlie, spirit power drawing, ed. The Hoochie Cochie.