Threats Could Never Silence Satirical Magazine

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Charlie Hebdo, the satirical magazine attacked in Paris has been targeted over its content before.

In the early hours of November 2, 2011, the paper's office was fire-bombed shortly after an issue featuring a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in which the religious figure was listed as "editor-in-chief".

The provocative move was not unusual for the publication, which has been poking fun at politics and religion for decades.

It was banned a year after its 1969 launch by the Minister of the Interior after mocking the media coverage of the death of former French president Charles de Gaulle.

But the paper, then known as Hara-Kiri Hebdo, changed its name to sidestep the ban.

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Gallery: Gunmen Attack Paris Magazine Office

Armed gunmen face police officers near the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris

An attack on the offices of the newspaper left eleven dead, including two police officers, according to sources close to the investigation

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Firefighters carry an injured man on a stretcher in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris

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Masked gunmen have attacked the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, killing up to 10 people

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It folded in 1981 but was reborn amid much fanfare in 1992, with the first edition selling 100,000 copies.

In 2006 the paper's front page showed a cartoon of a weeping Prophet Mohammed, and the resulting controversy boosted sales by around 60,000 copies.

The then French President, Jacques Chirac, warned that "overt provocations" to other religions should be avoided.

But it isn't just Islam that the paper has targeted.

In 2008 accusations of anti-Semitism were laid against a veteran cartoonist who was later sacked.

In September 2012, in the aftermath of attacks on US embassies in the Middle East, it published more satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

As a result, security was beefed up at several French embassies, while riot police surrounded the paper's offices to protect it.

Wednesday's attackers reportedly shouted "we have avenged the prophet" during the attack.

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