French daily Liberation loans office space to Charlie Hebdo and reproduces Muhammad caricature in solidarity following firebomb attack

The scene outside Charlie Hebdo's Paris office
following Wednesday's firebombing

Following the firebomb attack that destroyed the offices of Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical weekly which features "guest editor" Muhammad on the cover of its latest issue, the leading left-wing daily newspaper Liberation yesterday published a four-page supplement featuring the Muhammad image and other caricatures from the Charlie Hebdo team.

The supplement was wrapped around copies of Liberation, which has offered office space to Charlie Hebdo in the aftermath of the attack, and saw the satirical magazine declare: "After their office blaze, this team defends the 'freedom to poke fun'." It featured new cartoons, including one described by Reuters as depicting "a prophet-like figure tries to restrain his billowing robes in a pose reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe as a draft blows up from Charlie Hebdo newspapers below him", and another showing "an airborne fire-bomb with a face in the flames and the caption, 'So, is this how you see the prophet?'"

There was also a piece by Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier in which he explained why the magazine decided to publish another Muhammad caricature, having previously drawn criticism and legal action from Muslim groups for publishing the 2005 Danish cartoons:

"We thought the lines had moved and that maybe there would be more respect for our satirical work, our right to mock. Freedom to have a good laugh is as important as freedom of speech."

Charlie Hebdo is also to print another 175,000 copies of this week's "Sharia Hebdo" issue, after the initial 75,000 quickly sold out.