Charlie Hebdo’s copies with Muhammad on the cover are sold out in France

AFP

The new issue of Charlie Hebdo with Muhammad on the cover, condemned by some Muslim authorities, was sold out this Wednesday in the French newstands, a week after the attack that was claimed by al Qaeda in Yemen.

Survivors from the editirial staff of the satirical weekly newspaper represented Muhammad with a tear, holding a banner “I’m Charlie” and under the title “All is forgiven.”

For its part, the instance that represents the Islam before the Egyptian authorities, Dar al Ifta, described the drawings as a “provocation.”

To deal with the massive demand, the publisher decided to increase the circulation of this issue from three to five million copies to be distributed at a rate of 500,000 copies per day until January 19th.

“I had a queue of 60 to 70 people waiting when I opened,” said a newstand owner in Paris. “I’ve never seen anything like this. I sold my 450 copies in 15 minutes.”

The publication, which previously sold 30,000 copies in each edition, was spread in over 20 countries, a record for the French press. It was translated into five languages: the Spanish, Arabic and English in digital format, and the Italian and Turkish in paper format.