FRANCE-SHOOTING/POSTER Iconic photo of Charlie solidarity march displayed on museum facade

Record ID: 324435

  • Title: FRANCE-SHOOTING/POSTER Iconic photo of Charlie solidarity march displayed on museum facade
  • Date: 17th January 2015
  • Summary: DETAIL OF PHOTOGRAPH
  • Embargoed: 1st February 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5VSWOS0D1PQEYYONUWYYFQYA1
  • Story Text: A photograph taken during the huge solidarity march that followed the attacks against the Charlie Hebdo newspaper and a kosher supermarket was unfurled on Saturday (January 17) on the facade of the Beaubourg Museum in Paris.
    Millions of French citizens were joined by world leaders in a rally last Sunday (January 11) to pay tribute to the victims of the attacks.
    The picture, taken by Reuters photographer Stephane Mahe, became a powerful and symbolic image, and was used on the front covers of several national and international newspapers.
    The photograph was taken at 'Place de la Nation', where the march ended.
    Protesters are seen on top of the statue at the centre of the square, called 'Triumph of the Republic'.
    Mahe said the photograph was "a happy coincidence of anticipation and luck".
    He managed to snap the shot just as a man named Charles climbed to the top, brandishing a giant pencil.
    "You have the statue "The triumph of the Republic", you have Charles holding a pencil, a symbol of freedom of expression, and the French flag which nicely fills the picture. There you are. I was lucky to press at the right moment and it all fell into place in the picture," Mahe said.
    The pencil became a symbol of solidarity with the illustrators of Charlie Hebdo, killed when two Islamist gunmen attacked the satirical newspaper's newsroom on January 7.
    The president of the Beaubourg Museum, Alain Seban, said the photograph was reminiscent of a Eugene Delacroix painting called 'Liberty leading the people'.
    "It's the strength of the symbols. First, it's the statue of the Republic by Jules Dalou, and the three colours, it's this extremely dynamic composition, it's this man with his pencil who refers to press illustrators, it's the people with the posters 'I am Charlie' who evoke the memory of the victims of the attacks, and then an extremely dynamic composition that forces us to think about the famous painting by Eugene Delacroix 'Liberty leading the people'," Seban said.
    "You have something nearly miraculous in this photograph, and that's why it captures so well the spirit of a strong moment of our history," Seban added.
    The photograph will be on display for three to four weeks, Seban said.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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