‘I am not Charlie’: Cracks in solidarity start to appear

The world outpouring of sympathy after the deadly Charlie Hebdo attack has touched many in France but some either detect a note of hypocrisy or feel squeamish about supporting a satirical weekly that antagonised many.

President François Hollande’s government insists freedom of expression must not be curtailed out of fear of further attacks, and authorities have got fully behind a “Je suis Charlie” (“I am Charlie”) online campaign.

But scepticism has emerged on the one hand from surviving Charlie Hebdo workers who reject some support for them as insincere; from others who found the weekly plain offensive; and others who question the human rights records of the 40-plus world leaders who took part in yesterday’s unity march in Paris.