Return to Transcripts main page

Amanpour

Twelve Killed in Paris Attack -- Gunmen Remain at Large; Imagine a World

Aired January 07, 2015 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN HOST (voice-over): Tonight: "I don't feel as though I'm killing someone with a pen. I'm not putting lives at risk."

Those were the words of Stephane Charbonnier, editor of the satirical magazine, "Charlie Hebdo."

Now Charbonnier is dead, one of 12 people gunned down in a brazen terrorist attack in Paris, and we are standing by for the French President Francois

Hollande to speak to the nation at this hour.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

AMANPOUR: Good evening, everyone, welcome to the program. I'm Christiane Amanpour.

A massive manhunt is underway in France at this hour for two of the terrorists who have killed 12 and left 11 more wounded in a direct attack

on the press. This morning, gunmen stormed the offices of the French magazine, "Charlie Hebdo," and the French President Francois Hollande is

addressing the nation right now.

(LOCAL SIMULCAST)

AMANPOUR: Well, that was the French President Francois Hollande in a fairly short address to the nation, trying to galvanize the nation, saying

that this attack, as bad as it was -- and it is the worst terror attack in Europe in a decade -- will not divide the nation and will not cause friend

to relinquish the values that makes it French, freedom of expression, its culture, its tolerance and its peaceful unity together.

He obviously was trying to encourage a people who are clearly very, very traumatized by what has happened today. And let's just recap, the

terrorists remain at large. The French authorities say they are looking for three, quote, "criminals." Some of the violence that occurred earlier

today was captured by ordinary citizens as it happened.

(VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Now, again, this was an attack on the offices of the French satirical weekly, "Charlie Hebdo," and one of the dead is the editor,

Stephane Charbonnier, who once said, quote, "I would rather die standing that live on my knees."

Today, as I said, he was killed along with 11 other people, many of them colleagues. And 11 more are wounded; four of them are very seriously

wounded.

Joining me now is Natalie Nougayrede. She is a columnist, a writer and foreign affairs commentator for "The Guardian." She's the former editor of

the French newspaper, "Le Monde Diplomatique (sic)."

Natalie, welcome back to this -- "Le Monde" -- exactly, "Le Monde."

What do you make of what happened today?

Can you imagine this happening, an attack on the press in France?

NATALIE NOUGAYREDE, FORMER EDITOR, "LE MONDE": You know, looking at these pictures, Christiane, it's just -- it sends shivers down your back. We all

know that journalists are at risk in their jobs in many parts of the world, and certainly in war zones.

And seeing journalists getting shot in the middle of Paris, in the middle of a European capital, is quite traumatic. I think Hollande, as you've

seen, will definitely try to create a sense of national unity in the face of this attack. It is perceived clearly as an attack on the freedom of the

press. It is perceived as a terrorist attack. The indications that we have, this assailant calling out, "Allahu Akbar," the indications are that

it may have strong Islamic ingredients. And certainly the debate in France will unfold along those lines.

AMANPOUR: Before we get to that debate, which is obviously crucial, what can you tell us about any of the sources you may have spoken to, any of the

claims of responsibility? Obviously this is a very early period in time. But there seem to be tweets; there seem to be sort of by extension claims

of responsibility whether it's by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, some say an I.S. website has sort of praised what happened.

Obviously it's early days and law enforcement are cautioning us against drawing any conclusions.

But was there anything that would lead you to believe, as a former editor of a French newspaper, that there was a particular target?

NOUGAYREDE: You know, when as you said, all the indications are still fairly fragmentary and we do have to be careful, but when you say the word,

the name "Charlie Hebdo" in France, you think about the way they published, republished the caricatures of Muhammad approximately eight years ago.

And how this very much labeled them as a newspaper that was perceived as provocative, as insulting to certain strands of the Islamic world or

populations. And so immediately, as a French person, if you hear that "Charlie Hebdo" is being targeted, then you do think automatically about

Islamic fundamentalism.

Whether this will be confirmed by events is something else. And indeed, French authorities are pretty careful and have not made statements at this

point, saying that it Islamic. Hollande has not gone down that road yet. It may be ahead of us.

AMANPOUR: And again, you were editor at the time when all of this was going on.

What was the atmosphere in the sort of press circles about the lines and the boundaries that "Charlie Hebdo" was pushing, even despite the fact that

a few years ago, it got firebombed for its -- for the caricatures that were deemed to be offensive by some quarters of Muslim society?

NOUGAYREDE: "Charlie Hebdo" has always been seen as very resilient, in fact, in the face of threats, attacks; in the run-up to this incident,

there were possibly threats that targeted "Charlie Hebdo." This was not something that, as I -- as far as I understand, had I -- had intensified,

but they were regularly targeted and Stephane Charbonnier had published an op-ed approximately a year -- over a year ago, saying we stand for freedom

of expression. We are not racist.

And he really just went -- defended this and stressed this because he saw that the messages they were receiving led to the idea that "Charlie Hebdo"

was anti-Arab and anti-Muslim overall.

(CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: And he said he wasn't.

NOUGAYREDE: -- he -- of course. He said, "We stand for freedom of expression. We stand for equality, tolerance, diversity and indeed this is

certainly a charge that you cannot hold up against "Charlie Hebdo." They were certainly open-minded and very much in democratic values.

AMANPOUR: Were you surprised at the short length of the president's speech?

Did you expect it to be more?

Did you expect it to be more detailed?

And given that he personally is fairly unpopular, his policies are unpopular, how do you think French people will react to his call for unity

and for strength and perseverance in the face of this terrible attack?

NOUGAYREDE: I think he has, you know, sadly, ironically, in a tragic -- in tragic circumstances, there is something here for Hollande to play. And

I'm careful with using that word "play." But there is something for him. There's a card to play for him in -- on today's domestic political scene in

France. His rating is, indeed, very low. He will do his utmost to appear like the rallying, fatherly figure that stands out for fundamental values

of the French Republic.

But what's happening in France right now -- and we'll see how this develops -- is that people are ready to come out on the streets. And people are

starting to say -- I've had messages from friends in different cities in France saying, "I'm ready to go down the street and I'm going to

demonstrate in favor of the republic and democratic values."

AMANPOUR: Well, do you know what? In fact, they are. They're coming out to the Place de la Republique. People are carrying the flag and this, "Je

suis Charlie" is trending, as we say in the new social media world.

But this has galvanized people and we'll see where it leads.

Natalie -- go ahead.

NOUGAYREDE: Absolutely. And I also think that political commentators are going to be watching what the far right movement, what the Front National

is going to say about the --

AMANPOUR: Well, what do you think, because a cynic would say that an already popular in terms of poll ratings, National Front, could make hay

out of this. But that would be very dangerous for them, too, wouldn't it?

NOUGAYREDE: That's indeed -- if I had to guess, I would say that Marine Le Pen will try to take the high ground on this. This incident, if it is

Islamic terrorism, will in any case completely feed her rhetoric, her political narrative, completely boost her vision of the world and how she's

trying to rally more support in the run-up to the French 2017 presidential elections. She doesn't need to say a lot after this incident. She will

try to take the high ground.

AMANPOUR: There are so many violent and political currents at play. Natalie Nougayrede, thank you very much. Thanks for joining us tonight.

And as we said, this attack in Paris has provoked a huge reaction around the world, not only on social media. The hashtag and the phrase "Je suis

Charlie," as I said, "I am Charlie," has gone viral. It's an act of solidarity with the magazine. And the phrase having well over 2,000 tweets

per minute. We'll have more reaction and analysis on this breaking story when we come back.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

AMANPOUR: Now the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the people of France directly today. He said the freedom of expression represented by

the "Charlie Hebdo" magazine cannot be killed with terror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE (from captions): I want to address the Parisians and all the French people directly and say to them that the

Americans are standing beside them, not just in horror or in anger or in outrage for this vicious act of violence.

But we stand with you in solidarity and in commitment both to the cause of confronting extremism, and in the cause which the extremists fear so much

and which has always united our two countries: freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who's obviously a fluent French speaker, directly addressing people in France. And again

remembering that France is America's oldest ally.

And joining me now from Paris is Bernard-Henri Levy. He's a prominent French writer, public intellectual.

So you are also a friend of this show. Welcome back to the program on this incredibly sad day.

What is your first reaction to what happened in your city today?

BERNARD-HENRI LEVY, AUTHOR AND PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL: It is a great moment of sorrow, of pain, of mourning for any French woman or man today. We --

this morning it was an act of war. It was a real attack, not exactly terrorist, a sort of execution. It was not blind terrorism. These

murderers came to "Charlie Hebdo." They called the -- for some of the killed people by their name. They called them by their name and they did

execution them.

So it's a very strange and new form of terror which happened today. I must say also that to hear John Kerry expressing these words, in this language,

my language, French language, is a great moment of brotherhood and solidarity.

On September 11, we French felt that all of us were, for a moment, Americans. Today, John Kerry saying, "I am Charlie, I am French," is a

sort of opposite of reverse, solidarity of America with French people. And this is warm to my heart and to the heart of all your French friends and

allies.

AMANPOUR: And clearly, that message was loud and clear to you all. But you have just called this an act of war. And you're right. This was, as

far as we know, a deliberate execution of people who do nothing more but work with their pens and with their computers and with their words and

their voices.

How do you, Bernard, as an intellectual, as a writer, as a journalist, how do you continue? How does "Charlie Hebdo" continue? How does the French

press continue after this direct attack?

LEVY: "Charlie Hebdo" was a very small magazine, a magazine nearly underground magazine. but it was the embodiment of the spirit of France,

of the best of France, the best of France which is, like in America, freedom of speech, spirit of tolerance, will not to be oppressed by

religions and so on. Voltaire was embodied by "Charlie Hebdo." So it was at the same time a tiny magazine and the heart of France. Those guys this

morning did try to kill the heart and the spirit of France. Therefore, the emergency now, the task for any French writer, any French journalist is to

have the spirit of "Charlie Hebdo," which is the spirit of France to survive and to develop itself.

And there is today in all French cities a movement of solidarity with "Charlie Hebdo" and what "Charlie Hebdo" was embodying, which is

incredible. Again, very similar to what happened in America after September 11th. There was no blue and red America after September 11th;

there was United States of America.

Today in France, after this form of September 11, there is no Right or Left, no Muslim or Jews, no Catholic or atheist. There is French people

standing firmly with their own values and saying no to terror.

AMANPOUR: Yes, indeed.

But what do you think French Muslims have to do now, if anything?

Do they have to come out?

Do senior imams, do moderate Muslims in France have to say something or not?

LEVY: They have -- absolutely they have to say something, yes. It's the right moment for them, for those who did not do it already, since years and

years. Some did it already. But those who did not do it, it's the right moment to express their strong feeling that these murders this morning are

also enemies of Islam, that Islam is not that, that Islam does not look like this terrible caricature, which was expressed by those killers.

So it is a moment, yes, of course, for all the Muslims of this country to go in the streets and to say not in our name. And I know a lot -- we had

already today some imams, some spiritual authorities of Islam, who said very clearly this cannot be acted in our name. And there is too hard --

there will be, I'm sure, more and more French citizens of Muslim origin who will say the next hours, not in our name. We have nothing to do with this

ugly and disgusting form and image of Islam. This is the task.

There was two tasks today in France. Number one, for all French people not to -- not to mistake the enemy. Islam is not the enemy. Islamism, radical

Islamism is the enemy; of course not Islam. For the Muslims, the task is to go in the street, to go wherever it is possible to say this cannot be

done in our name.

AMANPOUR: Bernard, you are very well aware of what's going on in your own country; with the rise of the Far Right, very, very far ahead in the polls

now, the National Front. You see what's going on on a weekly basis in Germany, these anti-Islamic demonstrations.

This is happening in an environment that is already very, very highly sensitized.

How do you think this will play in the next few weeks and days and months, inside French politics?

LEVY: I am not sure at all that it will be professionally for National Front, which is -- which means for extreme right. What we see today at the

very minute when we are speaking, in all French cities, is completely different from what expect National Front. People young and old, women and

men, all classes are in the street in a -- with a feeling of unity, refusing any political recuperation and well decided not to be played by

any extremism like Front National.

Ms. Le Pen might be surprised by the republican and mature reaction of the French people. There is a trap, of course. There is a trap. We will see

as Natalie Nougayrede said, some people of National Front saying, you see, we said it since long and so on.

My feeling that tonight, the trap is not working. And then there is a very mature political reaction of the very majority of France who refuses the

choice between Islamism and National Front, because in the depth of their heart, for the majority of French citizens, know that it is in a way very

similar, that they are twins, the extreme right and the fascist Islamists, they are sort of cursed twins. And they will not choose between one and

the other.

AMANPOUR: Bernard-Henri Levy, always good to hear from you. Thank you so much.

And strong words from the president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, Dr. Dalil Boubakeur, condemns today's Paris terror attack in the

name of all Muslims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DALIL BOUBAKEUR, PRESIDENT, FRENCH COUNCIL OF THE MUSLIM FAITH (through translator): There are things that we cannot accept when things slide over

the edge and when there are harms to life because in Islam, human life is sacred.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: And as we've been saying, so many French people have come out onto the streets all over the country today, large crowds in the capital,

Paris, out in solidarity with the 12 people who were killed today and, of course, so many more have been wounded, some of those seriously. And we

will have more on this story after a break.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

AMANPOUR: Welcome back to the program. Of course we're following the ongoing manhunt for the terrorists who have killed 12 people in Paris

today and wounded 11 others. The French President Francois Hollande has vowed to hunt down the perpetrators and he's declared that Thursday,

tomorrow, will be a day of national mourning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): We must be above these crimes that strike us first of all by seeking the assassins of

this horrendous crime and then to judge and punish very severely. Everything will be done to arrest them through the authority of justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Now that was the president addressing the nation just in the last half hour. The gunmen had entered the offices of "Charlie Hebdo" this

morning, killing the editor, Stephane Charbonnier, and many of his colleagues. They then took to the Paris streets, spraying bullets into

their victims.

The French authorities say they're looking for three, quote, "criminals." People around France and around the world are expressing solidarity today,

using the phrase, "Je suis Charlie," "I am Charlie," after the name of the newspaper that was targeted, of course.

The U.S. President Barack Obama called the attack "a cowardly, evil attack."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The fact that this was an attack on journalists, attack on our free press, also underscores the

degree to which these terrorists fear freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

But the one thing that I'm very confident about is that the values that we share with the French people, a belief -- a universal belief in the freedom

of expression, is something that can't be silenced because of the senseless violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Joining me now again is Natalie Nougayrede. She is columnist, writer and foreign affairs commentator for "The Guardian" newspaper here.

And of course she's the former editor of the French paper, "Le Monde."

Welcome back again. You just heard the President of the United States. You heard the secretary of state reach out to the French people directly in

his own fluent French.

How do you think that will go down?

NOUGAYREDE: I think it's a very important and symbolical moment and it will be -- it will be a marker in the transatlantic relationship, in the

Franco-American relationship. America and -- was not completely, entirely popular in recent times in France.

The NSA -- revelations about NSA surveillance didn't go down very well among French public opinion. And there was a return after the Sarkozy

years of a sense that we don't want to be too bullied around by the United States and we want to stand for French identity.

And I think that this particular moment in public opinion will show what -- how much brings us together and how much we have in common. Also this is

happening in a context where France is very active on many theaters in ISIL (ph), in Northern Africa, in Iraq, flying -- participating in the air

campaign against ISIS. And so whereas public opinion may sometimes waver on the theme of how popular are the United States and France, French elites

and governments' structures are very much, very tightly cooperating.

AMANPOUR: And we can see as we're talking these live pictures that are coming in from Paris and other parts of the country, of all these people

who have simply defied the terror of this morning and have gone out to stand in solidarity. You heard your colleague, Bernard-Henri Levy, tell us

that this is a real moment for France to unite, to come together and to stand these people down and to stare them in the face and say that we won't

be intimidated.

And I was struck by what he said. This is a war, he said. This was a declaration of war against the French people, the French culture and the

French press.

NOUGAYREDE: Yes, indeed. I think it's very striking; it's moving. I mean, it is moving for me as a French person to see people coming out on

the streets. France is a very polarized society. This tragedy has occurred in a context where France is divided with really a polarized

political scene, the Left and the Right, the extremists trying to benefit from this, an economic crisis that is not going away. Unemployment is very

high in France. Youth, young people in France are discouraged. Muslim youth are discouraged. It would be a fantastic moment to see young French

Muslims along with representatives from the moderate Islamic community, come out. And I think that's the case. I mean, come out also and say we

are Charlie. And that would be a moment of real unity.

AMANPOUR: And not in my name, as many people have said in the past, when these kinds of attacks have happened.

Let us talk just a moment, because you know this so well, about what you just touched on, France has one of the highest if not the highest Muslim

population in Europe. There is a terrible inequality gap. There are these cites, these banlieus, these ghettos, where they are left to their own

devices with practically no opportunity.

And there is a rage that is -- some intellectuals are saying -- this is what extreme Islam is the vehicle for now, this rage against what they feel

is modernity and not being part of it.

Describe a little bit of that ugly underside, underbelly of your own country.

NOUGAYREDE: This is, I think, Christiane, possibly the next step in the debate as it unfolds. Right now, tonight, there is national unity. There

is mobilization for the values of the French republic. There is a sense of -- we're a state of war, as Bernard-Henri Levy said. I think in the

aftermath, it is likely that we will have a wider debate on why is it, if these were homegrown Islamic attackers, let's say that hypothesis is going

to be there.

Why do we have, on French soil, on French territory, people, young people possibly, who join the ideology of Salafi Islam?

AMANPOUR: I mean, let's face it --

(CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: -- hundreds of French people have gone over to fight for ISIS. Now we have no idea whether this is ISIS related or Al Qaeda. We just

simply don't know at the moment.

But the fact is that hundreds and hundreds of French have gone over there and the authorities are stopping hundreds of them from going over there.

NOUGAYREDE: They are -- there is a radicalization. There is a growing radicalization of parts, very much minority, but of parts of French youth,

and not just Muslims, by the way, you know, some non-Muslims or converts join these ranks and join -- all travel all the way to Turkey and into

Syria and join ISIS.

They are radicalized by many ways; online radicalization is apparently pretty widespread. And you know, there's a sense in France that the issue

of young Muslims is a pretty explosive one, not just because of the Islamic radicalization. People tonight will be remembering, you know, moments

where there was high tension in French society.

In 2005, remember the riots --

(CROSSTALK)

NOUGAYREDE: -- that was a moment where even parts of the French elite discovered to what extent whole swaths of the population of the young

population were left on the side of the road. And France has an identity issue right now, not just facing up to terrorism, but reconsolidating its

economic model, its social model and the way it deals and preserves its secular republic. And these are things that will have to be discussed and

sometimes it's difficult to discuss them.

AMANPOUR: Well, we will continue to discuss them.

Stand by, Natalie. We're going to move on for a moment, but we'll come back.

Now the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has been in London today, visiting the British Prime Minister David Cameron; when word of the Paris

attack broke, the two leaders stood together, shoulder to shoulder, and condemned those attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER, GREAT BRITAIN: What has happened in Paris is an appalling terrorist outrage. And I know that everyone in Britain

will want to stand with the French government and with the French people at this time. We must never allow the values that we hold dear, of democracy,

of freedom of speech, to be damaged by these terrorists.

We must stand against what they have done. And I feel huge sympathy for everyone in France, particularly for the families of those who have lost

loved ones. We will stand with you at this time.

ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translator): This is an attack against the values that we all hold dear, values by which we stand,

values of freedom of the press, freedom in general and the dignity of man.

And again our thoughts are with the French people, with all of those who lost their loved ones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: So we'll have more on this breaking story, the terrorist attack in Paris when we come back. We will go to Paris. Stand by.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

AMANPOUR: Welcome back to the program. The deadly gun attack in Paris killed 12 people and wounded 11 others; four are in critical condition in

hospital. And people are coming out into the streets to protest what happened today and to stand in solidarity. Among the dead are two police

officers as well as four employees of "Charlie Hebdo," the satirical magazine.

They've been named as Stephane Charbonnier or Charb, who was an editor and a cartoonist; Bernard Verlhac was a cartoonist who went by the pen name of

Tignous. Also killed were Georges Wolinski, here on the left, and Jean Cabut on the right. Both are well-known caricaturists.

And we're going right now to the scene where all of this took place. CNN's Atika Shubert joins us from Paris near the offices of the magazine.

Atika, what more can you tell us about any of the attempts and the manhunt that's underway right now?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know is that police are asking for witnesses, anybody who was near the area who might have seen

anything to come forward and give them any information they can get. What we know in terms of the trail and where they lost them is that they came in

at around noon to the office. That's when they opened fire. They ran outside and got into a black Citroen. You can see it in some of that

video.

Now they drove that to the 19th Arrondissement, which is just north of here. There they ditched it and actually hijacked another vehicle and that

is where apparently police lost them. And this is where they're now trying to pick up the trail.

They have increased security in a number of areas of the city, as you can imagine, in train stations, airports, but also places of worship; schools

closed early today. So things are still quite tense, especially when you consider that these gunmen are still on the loose.

This is the closest that we can get to the scene of the attack. The offices are actually in the building behind me over there. And police have

closed off most of the roads heading to there, because there are still forensics teams combing through that site, looking for clues -- Christiane.

AMANPOUR: Atika, the president of France has declared that tomorrow, Thursday, will be a national day of mourning. We know that four of the

"Charlie Hebdo" editorial staff have been named.

Who else are amongst the victims?

Do we know, apart from the two police who we've been told about?

SHUBERT: We know that 10 of the people who died were actually in the "Charlie Hebdo" offices, and they were right in the middle of an editorial

meeting when the gunmen entered and opened fire. So we know the cartoonists, for example, that were killed, but we can assume that a number

of other people involved in the magazine were also killed in the attack.

Now there were also two police officers outside who were killed. One of them appears to have been in -- who was injured initially and in one video

that has now frankly gone viral, we can see the attackers executing him, shooting him at point-blank range. It's quite -- it's really quite

chilling and terrifying to see.

So those are who we know have died. They have not all been identified at this point, but clearly we are expecting more information to come out on

that soon -- Christiane.

AMANPOUR: And do we know whether any of those police were part of the "Charlie Hebdo" security detail?

And do we know whether there was a security detail around or in the building on this day?

SHUBERT: We know that on a -- anywhere ordinary day, the "Charlie Hebdo" office had a police security detail. This is because of course they've

been a target for a number of years, ever since they first published the cartoon of the -- satirizing the Prophet Muhammad. And in 2011, they were

firebombed. So they did have a police normally nearby.

Now we have heard reports that there may have been a security person inside the building that was killed. We're still trying to confirm that. And

we're trying to understand whether or not the two police officers who were outside were part of that normal security detail or were they officers that

were called to the scene when those shots were heard.

So there's still a lot of fluid details out there. But there is no doubt that "Charlie Hebdo" did have security normally. The question is, were

they there at the time of the attack?

AMANPOUR: Atika Shubert, thank you so much for joining us from Paris there.

And we'll have more on the breaking story right after a break.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

AMANPOUR: Welcome back to the program and our continuing coverage of the terror attack in Paris; earlier this hour the French President Francois

Hollande assured his traumatized nation that this attack will not divide them. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLANDE (through translator): France is great; when she's capable in a hardship to show her best at her best, the level which has always shown

that France is always able to overcome trials. Freedom will always be stronger than barbarity.

France has always fought against enemies when she was able to block and unite with these values unity, uniting together with all forces, all forms.

That is what our response must be. We must unite against this and we will win because we have all of the capacities to believe in our destiny. And

nothing can make us move away from this determination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: So what does winning mean? What will it look like? And will there be unity in France?

Natalie Nougayrede is joining me here again, columnist with "The Guardian" and former editor of "Le Monde."

The president just made that declaration.

How will we win?

NOUGAYREDE: Well, I think on a first -- on the first level, I think the French media and French journalists will rally behind the -- behind

solidarity towards "Charlie Hebdo." "Charlie Hebdo" will need to survive. There will be help for such "Charlie Hebdo." This is a magazine that had

actually a few months ago called out for money, financial contributions from its readers because it was coming across hard times.

There is sympathy for "Charlie Hebdo" in France, not only because it is a symbol of free speech, free comment, free information, but because a lot of

the figures, the pictures of the people who were killed today are familiar faces -- Cabu, Wolinski -- these are people who are very much part of the

generation of highly creative -- Hollande says talent, yes, highly creative intellectual people who come from the generation of the post-1968 social

transformations in France.

And they are part of a generation that tried to ruffle up the traditions and the stiffness that existed in 1960-70s France. And they're very much

part of how France evolved towards more modernity and more diversity, more openness to gay rights, to women's rights and ruffling up the feathers of

religious institutions was very much part of that as well.

This is why this event is historical and feels -- and people feel very, very deeply about it in France.

AMANPOUR: And as we've talked, we're seeing all these live pictures and pictures of all these people who are coming out all over the place in

France, obviously, but also in Trafalgar Square here in Britain and I'm sure in many other parts of the world. People will be in solidarity and as

we've said the moniker, "I am Charlie," has been trending all over social media. And this is what happens in the aftermath of these horrendous

attacks, whether it was what happened in Sydney just before Christmas and now this terrible attack on the press.

You know, you say "Charlie" will survive, that it must survive, that it will get help.

What about the press?

Will they still dare to be that irreverent, to really point their satirical pen where they need to point it in the wake of this disaster?

NOUGAYREDE: There will be, I think, insistence on the fact that you do not step back; you do not renounce. In 2006, when "Charlie Hebdo" published

the cartoons of Muhammad and came under a threat and created a scandal, several French media said spontaneously we wouldn't have published them.

But now that we see the attacks coming down on "Charlie Hebdo," some of us will publish them. And "Le Monde" at the time ran two of the cartoons --

not all the cartoons, but did run two of the cartoons and ran on its front page a drawing of the face of Muhammad where each line was the sentence,

written sentence, "I will not draw Muhammad." And this was a drawing by "Le Monde's" cartoonist, Jean Plantureux --

(CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: Were you editor then?

NOUGAYREDE: -- I was at "Le Monde"; I was an editor.

AMANPOUR: And was there a lot of --

NOUGAYREDE: -- this was a strong moment.

AMANPOUR: Was there any debate about doing that?

Was it -- were you worried?

NOUGAYREDE: There was a debate and there was clearly a selection of the cartoons that would -- that were published by "Le Monde," not all the 20 or

so cartoons, not that because we felt that any of them needed to be censored; I think it was our position, "Le Monde's" position as is "The

Guardian's" position or any major European newspaper today -- and I think there is going to be a call from major European newspapers in solidarity

with free speech after this tragedy -- because basically it's the right to be able to publish the stuff, which is important. And but then everybody

decides whether you do run it, whether you do publish it or not.

AMANPOUR: And to get back to the manhunt now, are French people going to be asking how did these people manage to escape? There were police there.

There were clearly shootouts.

What are you hearing in that arena?

NOUGAYREDE: Fear is still very much there, because these attackers have not been caught, right? So they're still out there. There is going to be

fear and there's going to be suspicion. And questions are going to be raised and possibly on how could this possibly happen in the center of

Paris and after this attack, they were able to disappear and they were not pursued possibly in a very effective way.

What was the degree or the efficiency of the protection that "Charlie Hebdo" staff was benefiting from?

I think a few questions are going to be asked.

AMANPOUR: More than a few -- Natalie Nougayrede, thank you very much indeed.

And "Charlie Hebdo," as we said, has been no stranger to controversy. The satirical publication has been deliberately provocative and proudly so for

many years. It's regularly depicted and printed images that some Muslims, as we know, have found offensive. And in doing so, it's faced high profile

condemnation, even from some non-Muslim countries and leaders.

Back in 2006, for instance, the French president himself, Jacques Chirac, took issue with the paper when it published 12 controversial cartoons, as

we've been discussing, from a Danish newspaper, which were mocking the Prophet Muhammad. And in 2012, the White House, which today spoke out for

the right of free speech after this attack, criticized the magazine back then after it had published cartoons showing the Prophet naked.

The images led to the closure of French embassies and schools in 20 Muslim countries around the world. And that year I spoke to one of the

cartoonists, Luz. And I asked him if he was concerned then about the offensive nature of the pictures. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUZ, CARTOONIST, "CHARLIE HEBDO": "Charlie Hebdo" has got -- is having a very long -- I mean, shocking for people who want to be shocked past. I

mean, so we only decided to, you know, we were like a regular journalist but not choosing a computer or a camera.

And it's like a way to react about actuality, news, and we just let the cartoonists just do the job on reacting about this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: So earlier today, when the gunmen fled the scene in Paris, they were apparently caught on video, shouting, "'Charlie Hebdo' is dead."

But a few hours later, the magazine posted this defiant image on its website, saying, "Je suis Charlie" or "I am Charlie."

And that's it for our program tonight. Remember you can always watch the program online at amanpour.com, and follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you for watching and goodbye from London.

END