'Collective courage’ key to protecting freedom of speech, cartoonist tells FRANCE 24
On the tenth anniversary of the attacks on the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, FRANCE 24 welcomes cartoonist and Chair of the Freedom Cartoonists Foundation Patrick Chappatte to discover his work as a satirist and the power of cartoons.
Society has become “less and less tolerant of controversy”, said Chappatte, making it all the more necessary to protect freedom of speech today.
“Those principles have to be defended every day,” he reminds us, highlighting the importance of free speech. “They are more important today than even yesterday.”
“It takes the collective courage of editors to publish and the courage of the audience to support those voices for freedom of expression. It’s a collective fight that goes on every day.”
He also urged others to show courage – those in newsrooms, editors, journalists and even audiences and readers.
“The goal of political cartooning is not to provoke or to shock; it’s to make a point and if in that process you’re going to provoke or shock some beliefs, well that’s the deal. That’s the importance of satire.”
Read more on FRANCE 24 English
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