PARIS: French politicians paid tribute Saturday (Sunday in Manila) to Charlie Hebdo staff and other victims of the January 2015 Islamist attacks, days after the satirical weekly's latest edition sparked outrage in Iran.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted the names of all 17 victims of a spate of attacks eight years ago in and around Paris, including the 12 people killed at the offices of Charlie Hebdo.
"We will never forget you," he added, with a cartoon by the well-known French cartoonist Plantu below.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne also marked the anniversary of the attacks, which also involved a deadly siege at a kosher supermarket.
"In the face of Islamist terrorism, the Republic remains standing," she tweeted. "For their families, for our values, for our liberty: we do not forget."
And Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak tweeted: "Satire, irreverence, the republican tradition of press cartoons are intrinsic to our democracy. We continue to defend them."
The tributes came days after Tehran reacted furiously to cartoons mocking Iran's leadership in the latest issue of Charlie Hebdo, which appeared on Wednesday.
The magazine had invited cartoonists to depict Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the context of ongoing demonstrations against his theocratic regime, by women in particular.
The graphic front cover sought to highlight the fight for women's rights, while others were sexually explicit and insulting toward Khamenei and fellow clerics.
Many cartoons pointed to the authorities' use of capital punishment as a tactic to quell the protests.
Tehran's anger
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