Charlie Hebdo cover: Magazine in high demand in Montreal
Satirical magazine is publishing 3 million copies this week, instead of the usual 60,000
Demand is high in Montreal for a new edition of Charlie Hebdo available across the country on Friday.
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Nicolas Champagne, manager of the Multimags store on Mont-Royal Street, said requests have been pouring in from people wanting to get their hands on a copy in the wake of last week's terror attacks in Paris.
"It was call after call and people were coming in and asking for copies," Champagne said, adding that he has nearly 200 names on a waiting list at his store.
About 1,500 copies of the magazine are destined for Canada, and three-quarters of those are headed for Quebec.
In total, the satirical magazine is publishing 3 million copies this week, instead of the usual 60,000.
It will be translated in 16 languages and distributed across the globe.
Louis-Philip Vermeersch, director of sales for LMPI, the magazine's Canadian distributor, said the increased production likely won't be enough to meet demand for the issue from those Canadians who want to see the latest copy of the magazine.
Copies will be available at five Toronto stores, one in New Brunswick, one in Nova Scotia and a handful in Vancouver, in addition to its usual Quebec-based retailers.
On Wednesday, the new issue immediately vanished from some Paris kiosks. Some newsstand operators said they expected more copies to arrive on Thursday. One kiosk near the Champs Elysees, open at 6 a.m., was sold out by 6:05.
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Not everyone is enthusiastic about what's on the cover.
It depicts a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad weeping and holding a sign reading "I am Charlie" with the words "All is forgiven" above him.
Museb Abu-Thuraia, a Muslim Montrealer, said the cartoon is offensive.
"The fact that they are making another one is to a certain extent just poking the bear," he said.
"We have seen that the Muslim community worldwide has had a negative reaction to this, so it is not a very smart move on their behalf."
with files from Canadian Press