In France, the derogatory cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad by Charlie Hebdo were displayed onto the state buildings as part of the tribute to the late history teacher, Samuel Paty. The teacher was killed by a terrorist last week, who was allegedly in contact with an extremist organization in Syria.
On Wednesday evening, the highly controversial depictions from a French satirical newspaper were displayed onto the town halls in Toulouse and Montpellier for several hours. It came after an official memorial in Paris was attended by President Emmanuel Macron and Paty’s family.
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Paty was beheaded days after he showed his pupils the Prophet’s cartoons in a class to teach them about the freedom of speech. While paying tribute to the teacher, President Macron described him as a “true” fallen hero who embodied the values of the French republic.
Furthermore, during the memorial, the president also awarded Paty the Légion d’Honneur, the country’s highest civilian award. Macron said that he was killed because he incarnated the French values and because “Islamists” want “our future.” The president added, “Samuel Paty on Friday became the face of the Republic, of our desire to break the will of the terrorists… and to live as a community of free citizens in our country.”
It was the second attack since the trial against the accused accomplices of the 2015’s attack on the newspaper’s Paris offices began last month. As many as fourteen people are accused of providing logistical and weapon support to the gunmen, who were killed nearly three days after the attack that left dozens of people injured and seventeen killed.
Moreover, as part of the investigation into Friday’s incident, more than a dozen people have been arrested. The perpetrator of the incident was killed by the police.
