Running Head: The Paris Attack

The Paris Attack: A Review of Literature

Stephany Rubio
University of Texas at El Paso

Running Head: The Paris Attack

The Paris Attack: A Review of Literature

The Paris attacks that started in January 7 th, 2015, and ended three days later, had Paris in
a three-day terror. In this period of time 17 people where killed by the Kouachi brothers and
Amedy Coulibaly, the attackers. The greatest hit was done to the offices of Charlie Hebdo, an
editorial office, in which 12 people where killed. One policewoman was shot and killed on the
Paris suburb the second day of the attack. On the third day four people who were held hostages,
where killed inside the Kosher Supermarket by Amedy Coulibaly. According to Josh levs, Ed
Payne and Micheal Pearson, editors for CNN News article, A timeline of the Charlie Hebdo
terror attack, (2015) The gunmen inside the Charlie Hebdo editorial shouted they were avenging
the Prophet Mohammed.
Questions are still been view today as to what events lead to the attack. Many of the
questions trigger emotions of what-if. As to others blame the French government for failing to
prevent the attack. Some of the questions after the attack were:
1. Was the editorial Charlie Hebdo expressing freedom of speech with their
cartoons?
2. Could the Paris Attack been prevented by the government?
3. Were Al Qaeda and Isis affiliated in the Paris Attack?
These questions will review the conflict between French laws, pertaining to freedom of
expression, the government involvement to prevent the terror attack, and who was responsible
for the massacre that left Paris in terror for three days.
Was the editorial Charlie Hebdo expressing freedom of speech with their cartoons?

Running Head: The Paris Attack

Charlie Hebdo and freedom of expression go hand by hand in the streets of Paris. After
January 7th, 2015 people fear the terrorist attack against the editorial will mark an end to the right
of freedom of expression. After interviewing five students, three of them agreed, that the
editorial Charlie Hebdo had the right to express freedom of speech, no matter whom they
offended on the way. According to the rest, it is always a limit to freedom of speech and making
fun of others people faith.
The argument presented by the three students who answer that the editorial was
expressing freedom of speech was that, freedom of speech is the expression of opinion without
restrain. They argued that if politics rules that the people have the right to express opinion, the
government couldnt rule otherwise. When asked about the Charlie Hebdo cartoon offending
Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, and the response from the three terrorists who killed 12
people, they agreed that people get easily offended and by no means have the right to kill. One of
the students argued that when someone agrees to live in a community, they agree to follow
governments rule. The rule in this case is freedom of speech.
The two remaining students argued that there is always a limit to freedom of speech, and
it is wrong to disrespect peoples faith. Jazmin, one of the students who participated in the
interview explained that while some people constantly hear their religion being mocked, by no
means, act with violence. Her opinion was that people who incite violence are not defending a
god who says that violence is wrong. She argued that what type of god would allow people to
kill people. Not Muhammad. It was also argued that even though there is a law forbidding people
to mock or make fun a religion, the law did nothing to stop Charlie Hebdo, and this might have
cause the attackers to see the double standards of government.

Running Head: The Paris Attack

Could the Paris Attack been prevented by the government?

Questions surrounding the Paris attack went out throughout France questioning the
government capability to protect it citizens. Citizens in France argued that the government didnt
pay close attention to the warning signs, such the attack in Toulouse. According David Chazans
article, Toulouse school shootings traumatize French Jews (2012) the attack against the Jewish
community in Toulouse school left four people dead, one teacher and the rest children. After
interviewing five students about their thoughts on the Paris attack and the government
involvement their opinions varied.
Chantal one of the participants in the interview, argued that how can people prevent an
attack in the first place if an attack is always unexpected. Her example was the 9/11 attacks in
New York. Government was not warned against this attack. Therefore it is not the government
fault, not been able to prevent something that is out of their hands. She kept on explaining that
Even if the government knew about the attack before it hit the twin towers how can you take
down an airplane full of innocent people?
Kevin on the other hand argued, it is the job of any government to know what is
happening around the world to be able to protect their citizens in any emergency. Kevin went
ahead and explained that having police officers rounding our city makes it safer than any other
place even though we are across the border to Mexico, where crime is elevated. Kevin argues
that the Paris government should put more security in their borders to prevent terrorist to enter
their city.
Jovanna one of the participants in the interview commented that before coming to the
interview she did some research on her own about the topic. She found out about a hate speech

Running Head: The Paris Attack

law in France in which people with who are from different ethnicity, religion or sexual
orientation are protected against discrimination. In this case, she explains that the law on
Freedom of Press forbids the press from discriminating against anyone who has different beliefs.
Charlie Hebdo editorial was making fun of a religion that is protected under the French law, why
did the government allow this to happen. According to Freedom House, Freedom of Press (2013)
can have a penalty for imprisonment up to a year and also fined 58,000 American dollars. The
final question for this topic was, does the Paris government have double standards in their laws?
Because they sure did nothing to control the Charlie Hebdo cartoon against the Muslim
community.

Source: The Huffington Post (2015) 4 Cartoonists Killed In Attack On Charlie Hebdo
Newspaper.

Retrieved

attack_n_6428962.html

from

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/07/cartoonists-killed-

Running Head: The Paris Attack

Were Al Qaeda and Isis affiliated in the Paris attack?

According to Ryan Mauro for The Clarion Project, Al-Qaeda - ISIS Roles in Paris
Attack: A New Dangerous Trend? (2015) Al-Qaeda and Isis claimed credit for the Paris attack.
Cherif Kouachi argued that they were financed by Al-Qaedas Yemeni operation and were sent to
carry out the attack against France. In a video released by Amedy Coulibaly, he was seen
declaring allegiance to ISIS and pledging alliance with the Kouachi brothers. Mauro mentions
that an affiliation between these two groups is not probable because they have been attacking
each other after the Paris attack. One of the examples Mauro gives is that in which Al-Qaeda
condemns Pakistani Talibans massacre of children at a school.
This question was the hardest to answer for the five students. When asked whom they
thought was the affiliated group who went against Paris their answers varied. For Kevin the
affiliated group who lead the attack was ISIS because he argues that the group has more weapons
and fighters who are willing to lose their lives for the Islamic group. Jazmin believes that the
group that led the attack was Al-Qaeda because they have more intelligence power and
experience. The rest of the group guessed that both groups took part in the attack because of the
statements of the Kouachi brothers and Amedy Coulibaly.
According to the graph below from Foreign Policy Research Institute, Al Qaeda versus
ISIS: In the campaign for jihads top slot, Yemen is a swing state. (2014) ISIS has gained
important backing from Saudi foreign fighters. We can see by the graph that the ISIS group has
gain a lot of support, perhaps taking away the fighters from Al-Qaeda.

Running Head: The Paris Attack

Source: Foreign Policy Research Institute (2014) Al Qaeda versus ISIS: In the campaign for
jihads
top
slot,
Yemen
is
a
swing
state.
Retrieved
from
http://www.fpri.org/geopoliticus/2014/10/al-qaeda-versus-isis-campaign-jihads-top-slot-yemenswing-state
Conclusion
We can see by this tragic incident in Paris that making fun of peoples believes can incite
violence on people who get easily offended, not only do the group of students participating in the
interview judge the attackers but also the government. At the end of the interview all of the
students agreed that the government had their do in the attack. Not by attacking the Charlie
Hebdo editorial, but by not implementing their own law. Allowing the editorial to insult a
religion and not recognizing the warning signs send to them by the terrorists. The opinion to if
the Charlie Hebdo editorial was expressing freedom of speech with their cartoons varies from
person to person. There was no correct or wrong answer to the question, the answer lies in the
events of January 7th.

Running Head: The Paris Attack

8
Reference

CNN Online: The Paris Attack (2015, January 9) CNN Online: A timeline of the Charlie
Hebdo

terror

attack..

Retrieved

March

26,

2015

from

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/08/europe/charlie-hebdo-attack-timeline/index.html
BBC News Online: The Paris Attack (2015, March 22) BBC News Online: Toulouse
school shootings traumatise French Jews. Retrieved March 26, 2015 from
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17456582
Freedom House Online: The Paris Attack (2013) Freedom House Online: France Freedom of
Press. Retrieved March 26, 2015 from https:// freedomhouse.org/report/freedompress/2013/france#.VRdYIFxYWng
The Huffington Post Online: The Paris Attack (2015, January 7th) The Huffington Post: 4
Cartoonists Killed In Attack On Charlie Hebdo Newspaper. Retrived March 26, 2015
from

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/07/cartoonists-killed-

attack_n_6428962.html
The Clarion Project Online: The Paris Attack (2015, January 14) The Clarion Project Online: AlQaeda - ISIS Roles in Paris Attack: A New Dangerous Trend? Retrieved Match 26, 2015
from

http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/al-qaeda-isis-roles-paris-attack-new-

dangerous.trend
Foreign Policy Research Institute Online: The Paris Attack (2014) Foreign Policy Research
Institute Online: Al Qaeda versus ISIS: In the campaign for jihads top slot, Yemen is a
swing state. Retrieved March 26, 2015 from http://www.fpri.org/geopoliticus/2014/10/alqaeda-versus-isis-campaign-jihads-top-slot-yemen-swing-state

Running Head: The Paris Attack