Space, Territory and Identity around and after Charlie Hebdo

What is it about?

Media coverage of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks in Paris in January 2015 was striking for its triangulation of locations which are emblematic of contemporary France. From the banlieue where the attackers grew up, to the public spaces in central Paris where French national values were reasserted, space and its representation emerged as key perspectives from which to consider the events and what they reveal about the current state of the country. This article examines the spatial dynamics of the crisis, its visual representation, and their role in the framing and consumption of the events.

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Why is it important?

The article examines the terrorist attacks in Paris on January 2015 from the point of view of space and territory in order to offer an innovative reading of the events, their social significance, and the nature of responses to them. It explores how the origins and movements of the attackers across the spaces of Paris and its suburbs interrogate the territorial identity and unity which is central to French republican ideology, and how the gathering of citizens in symbolic locations made visible the threat to the French Republic.