Paris attacks: France grapples with freedom of speech
Source: BBC NEWS
When French President Francois Hollande gave a sombre televised address to the nation, hours after the shocking attack on Charlie Hebdo, he vowed to protect the message of freedom that the magazine's journalists represented.
A statue on Place de la Republique, Paris, symbolically "gagged" by protesters after the Charlie Hebdo attacks
But since the start of the week, 54 people have been detained and several jailed for a variety of remarks, shouted out in the street or posted on social media, and France's judiciary has been lampooned for what appear to be double standards.
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Prime Minister Manuel Valls set it out plainly: freedom of speech should not be confused with anti-Semitism, racism and Holocaust denial.
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The right to say, write or print what you want is rooted in the declaration of rights that came with the 1789 French Revolution, but even then abuse of that freedom was limited by law.
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-eu-30829005
Everywhere you look in the French-speaking media, this vexing and vital question is being debated.
How to reconcile France's commitment to individual liberties and restrictions on those same freedoms--how to ensure public safety in a society that aspires to openness and tolerance?
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