16 Jan 2020
French culture minister announces plans for satirical cartoon centre five years after Charlie Hebdo terror attack
BY Lauren Heath-Jones
Five years after the terror attack on Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper based in Paris, the French government has announced plans to open a centre dedicated to editorial and satirical cartoons.
According to French culture minister Franck Rieste, the centre, which was announced earlier this week, was 'conceived and wanted' by Georges Wolinski, one of the five caricaturists killed in the 2015 attack, which claimed the lives of 12 people, including caricaturists Jean Cabut, Stéphane Charbonnier, Bernard Verlhac and Phillipe Honoré.
The centre will enable the creation and promotion of satirical cartoons by providing creators with meeting, exhibition and training spaces.
Vincent Monadé, head of the Centre National du Livre (the National Centre of Books), will present proposals for the centre.
"I firmly believe that we need a place today where meetings, training and exhibitions can be held on editorial and satirical cartoons, in line with Georges Wolinski's wishes. A place for free expression, for explaining and showing. A place meeting the highest scientific standards, open to the world, embracing tomorrow's challenges for editorial cartoons and shining the spotlight on cartoonists," Riester said.
A statement from the French government stated that: "Editorial cartoons are a reflection of our times, our freedoms and the dangers that threaten them. Drawn to amuse and inform us, often in an irreverential tone, editorial cartoons are a powerful means of expression and creativity in our societies that enhance media independence and therefore the vitality of our democracies."
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