Charb (1967-2015) was a French political cartoonist and satirical journalist, publishing director of Charlie Hebdo. A defender of freedom of expression and secularism, he was murdered on 7 January 2015 during the attack on the newspaper.
Frequently asked questions
Famous Quotes
« I would rather die standing than live on my knees.»
Key Facts
- Born on 21 August 1967 in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
- Became a cartoonist and then publishing director of Charlie Hebdo in 2009
- Published and defended satirical caricatures despite threats and a 2007 lawsuit
- Murdered on 7 January 2015 in the attack on Charlie Hebdo, along with eleven other victims
- Posthumous work published in 2015: Open Letter to the Fraudsters of Islamophobia Who Play into Racists’ Hands
Works & Achievements
Satirical comic strip featuring a cynical dog and cat; one of Charb's most famous creations.
Charb ran the satirical weekly and championed an editorial line irreverent toward all forms of power.
A provocative issue “edited” by Muhammad, which triggered the firebombing of the offices and a national debate about caricature.
A regular cartoon column in which Charb ferociously sketched political and social current events.
A series of illustrated biographies of the prophet of Islam, presented as a work of historical popularization.
An essay in which Charb distinguishes the criticism of religions from racism, which has become a reference text on secularism.
Anecdotes
His real name was Stéphane Charbonnier, but he chose the pen name “Charb” very early on — shorter and easier to slip beneath a drawing. Passionate about comics since childhood, he published his first drawings while still a teenager and joined the staff of *Charlie Hebdo* as soon as it was revived in 1992.
In 2004, Charb created “Maurice and Patapon,” a cynical dog and a crude cat who comment on current events with a gleeful nastiness. The series became one of his best-known creations and appeared in several newspapers before being collected into albums.
After the arson attack on the offices of *Charlie Hebdo* in November 2011, Charb lived under permanent police protection: a bodyguard accompanied him everywhere. Asked about it by *Le Monde* in 2012, he calmly replied that he would rather “die standing than live on his knees.”
On 7 January 2015, two armed men burst into *Charlie Hebdo*’s editorial meeting and killed twelve people, including Charb. In the days that followed, the slogan “Je suis Charlie” spread around the world, and millions of people marched across France on 11 January.
At the time of his death, Charb was working on a book titled “Open Letter to the Fraudsters of Islamophobia Who Play into the Hands of Racists.” The manuscript, completed two days before the attack, was published posthumously a few weeks later and became a widely studied text on the meaning of the word *laïcité*.
Primary Sources
I have no kids, no wife, no car, no debt. It probably sounds a bit pompous, but I would rather die standing than live on my knees.
If we want to defend the oppressed, we must not confuse criticism of a religion with racism toward those who practice it.
The issue, supposedly “guest-edited” by the prophet Muhammad, bore the caption: “100 lashes if you don't die laughing”.
Key Places
A town in the Yvelines department, in the Paris region, where Stéphane Charbonnier was born in 1967.
Headquarters of the editorial staff where Charb ran the paper and where he was murdered during the attack of 7 January 2015.
The paper's offices, firebombed in a criminal attack in November 2011, after the publication of “Charia Hebdo”.
The gathering point for the republican march of 11 January 2015 and a place of remembrance for the victims of the attack.