A LARGE NUMBER of Irish retailers have been trying to get their hands on copies of the “survivor’s edition” of Charlie Hebdo this week.
The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA) said more than 2,000 copies of the latest edition of the French magazine have been ordered by around 160 retailers.
A spokesperson told TheJournal.ie that it remains to be seen how many of these issues will actually make their way to the shelves, however.
“It’s down to logistics now, whether it comes from distributors in France or it’s sent through the UK and is redistributed there,” they explained.
If they go through the UK first, there may be few or no copies left to send to Irish stores.
Earlier today, the Carlow franchise of Eason had contacted us to say they would “definitely” be stocking the magazine this week.
“Eason Carlow will definitely be stocking issues of the magazine as we have always done,” Eoin Hennigan, Managing Partner said. Less than three hours later, however Hennigan got in touch to say “it now appears we cannot secure issues of the magazine, at all”.
He added that the store “has no plans to stock the current or future editions”.
No offence
The CSNA spokesperson said some store in Ireland were reluctant to display and sell the magazine, as they were worried about a potential backlash.
“Some are only providing the product to people who are ordering it,” they said. “That means no offence can be caused to anyone because it’s not on display.”
Around 700,000 copies of the issue were released on Wednesday as part of a print run that will eventually total five million. The cover features a depiction of the Prophet Mohammed holding a ‘Je Suis Charlie’ sign. The headline reads “Tout est Pardoné” – “All is Forgiven”.
There were 12 people shot dead in the terrorist attack on the magazine’s offices, including the editor and well known cartoonists. The remaining staff worked out of the offices of the Libération newspaper to produce this week’s issue. All profits from sales will go to the victim’s families.
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