The new edition of Charlie Hebdo, the satirical French magazine that was the target of one of the country’s worst terrorist attacks in decades, will be difficult for Americans to find in print, despite an expanded print run of 3m copies.
Demand for the latest issue – which depicts the prophet Muhammad shedding a tear and holding the sign “Je suis Charlie” – is so intense that message boards have sprung up on Reddit, with posters from around the world asking French members to mail copies to the US midwest and Italy.
The magazine announced that it would print a record 3m copies after the massacre of 12 people at its office triggered a worldwide debate on free speech. Its normal print run is 60,000 copies, and money from sales will go the victims’ families.
An English version will be available in digital form, as will Spanish and Arabic editions. But American readers hoping to obtain a printed edition may be frustrated.
Vendors on eBay are asking Americans to pay $500 for the French edition. Some have recommended subscribing to Charlie Hebdo for around $181, but it’s unclear if new subscribers will receive the upcoming edition.
And bookstores and newsstands around New York have been flooded with requests for the magazine, which comes out on Wednesday.
“I can’t promise you anything,” said Miriam Bridenne, community manager of Albertine, a French American bookstore in New York’s upper east side neighborhood. She said “tons of people” had called attempting to reserve copies. “I can’t take any reservations at this time because we don’t know how many we’re going to get,” she said.
A clerk at Barnes & Noble in Union Square, one of the busiest book stores in New York City, said the store has never carried the magazine, but that hasn’t stopped dozens of patrons from asking for it.
“Everyone’s been asking for it, but we never carry it in general,” said Toshi, who declined to give his last name because the company’s corporate office had not authorized him to speak to reporters. He said around 50 customers had asked him personally for the magazine since the attack.
The owner of Hotaling’s, New York City’s venerated 109-year-old newsstand, said he does not have copies.
“We used to be in the business, the foreign publication retail end of it, and ever since 10, 15 years ago,” Art Hotaling said, “the internet put a damper on that.” Hotaling recommended contacting the French consulate general in New York.
A phone call to the French consulate went unanswered.
