What Joann Sfar drew: Charlie Hebdo cartoonist in translation

France is an old country where lovers embrace freely.

Paris is our capital. We love music, drunkenness, joy.

For centuries lovers of death have tried to make us lose life’s flavour.

They never succeed.

Those who love. Those who love life. In the end, they’re always the ones who are rewarded.

The motto of Paris is beautiful.

‘It is beaten by the waves but does not sink’

Terrorism is not the enemy. Terrorism is a mode of operation. Repeating ‘we are at war’ without finding the courage to name our enemies leads nowhere. Our enemies are those that love death. In various guises, they have always existed. History forgets quickly.

The people who died tonight were out living, drinking, singing. They didn’t know they had declared war.

Instead of dividing, we should remember what is precious: our way of life.

Lovers of death, if God exists, he hated you. And you have already lost, both on earth and in heaven.

It means, ‘Fuck death.’

The cartoon, in translation, available here

Je suis Charlie

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a cartoon worth?


Here are some of the more controversial cartoons run by Charlie Hebdo:

Charlie Hebdo’s website can be found here.