Charlie Hebdo Sells Out At Newsstands In Paris

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French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has sold out around France after appearing for the first time since Islamist gunmen massacred 12 people at its offices.

The front cover of the magazine - which had an initial print run of three million - depicts the Prophet Mohammed holding a sign that says "Je suis Charlie," the slogan taken up by supporters since the attack a week ago.

Despite warnings that the image could provoke further attacks by extremists, queues formed at newsstands in the French capital from 6am and at some the issue sold out before 8am.

Charlie Hebdo distributors have since confirmed that figure will be boosted to five million copies to meet demand.

One woman working at a newspaper kiosk said: "It was incredible. I had a queue of 60-70 people waiting for me when I opened.

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Gallery: France Queues At Newstands For Charlie Hebdo

A queue of people wait outside a kiosk to get a copy of Charlie Hebdo in Saint Germain en Laye, France

People wait outside a newsagents in Paris. The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo since Islamist attacks on the magazines offices left 12 people dead has sold out in many parts of France

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The new edition of Charlie Hebdo is prepared for delivery at a press distribution center in the suburbs of Paris

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Distributors say the paper will print five million copies of its new edition to meet demand. Continue through for more pictures

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"I've never seen anything like it. All my 450 copies were sold out in 15 minutes."

Sky's Europe Correspondent Robert Nisbet said: "This newsstand behind me outside the Gare de l'Est had 75 copies this morning, they all went.

"You can't get a copy inside the Gare de l'Est railway station at all, such is the demand not just here, but all around the world."

Copies of the magazine have appeared on the ebay auction site, with bids reaching up to £1,550.

The edition's lead editorial said: "For the past week, Charlie, an atheist newspaper, has achieved more miracles than all the saints and prophets combined.

"The one we are most proud of is that you have in your hands the newspaper that we always made."

It also features a joke about the bells of Notre Dame cathedral ringing out for its murdered satirists, as well as jibes at the terrorists who killed them.

Profits from the "survivors' issue" will go to the families of victims of the shooting.

But the cartoon has led to warnings from Muslim groups that it could "stir up hatred".

Al Azhar, Sunni Islam's most prestigious centre of learning based in Cairo, Egypt, said the drawings "do not serve the peaceful co-existence between peoples and hinders the integration of Muslims into European and Western societies."

French Muslim groups have also urged their communities to "stay calm and avoid emotive reactions" to the magazine.

Iran, meanwhile, has condemned the publication as "insulting" and "provocative".

The cartoon "provokes the emotions of Muslims and hurts their feelings around the world, and could fan the flame of a vicious circle of extremism," Iran's foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls declared a "war against terrorism" on Tuesday and in a speech called for France to pull together after the attack and the killing of four hostages at a Jewish supermarket in Paris as well as the murder of a police officer in the capital.

He said: "France is at war against terrorism, jihadism, radicalism... (not) Islam and Muslims.

"I don't want Jews in this country to be scared, or Muslims to be ashamed."

Mr Valls called for France's intelligence and anti-terrorism laws to be strengthened and "clear failings" addressed.

The Charlie Hebdo gunmen - Said and Cherif Kouachi - and their accomplice, supermarket gunman Amedy Coulibaly, were known to French intelligence agencies and had been on a US terror watch list for some time.

In a newly-released video Yemen's al Qaeda branch said it ordered the attack in retaliation for the publication's depiction of the Prophet Mohammed.

"We, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, claim responsibility for this operation as vengeance for the messenger of Allah," one of the group's leaders, Nasser al-Ansi, said.

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Gallery: Funerals For Paris Attacks Victims

Police officers carry the coffins draped in the French flag of the three police officers killed in the recent terror attacks in Paris, at the city's police headquarters

The coffin of French police officer Ahmed Merabet, 40, is carried by colleagues

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The magazine had faced threats and was firebombed for featuring cartoons of the prophet.

Meanwhile funerals have taken place in Paris and Jerusalem for some of the 17 killed in the terror attacks, which included three police officers.

It has also been confirmed that US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Paris on Friday to meet French President Francois Hollande.

It comes after US congressman Randy Weber compared President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler after he did not attend a unity march in Paris over the weekend.

"Even Adolph Hitler thought it more important than Obama to get to Paris. (For all the wrong reasons.) Obama couldn't do it for right reasons," the Texas Republican wrote.

He has since issued an apology.

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