In the aftermath of the Paris attack

Ten journalists and two policemen are dead after being shot by two terrorists, who came in through the front door of a secured entrance of the satirical journal Charlie Hebdo on Richar Lenoir Street in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. This magazine has been around for a long time and does not meet everyone’s taste test, but has passed the test of time with its veteran cartoonists, who were indeed provocative (to say the least).

Indeed it is interesting to note that this attack is yet another crackdown on the freedom of expression not only in France, but also in the U.S. with the hack of Sony’s satirical film about the North Korean dictator, “The Interview.” It seems that someone has set the cursor a little too far to right … or left. Is it acceptable to satirize or insult certain controversial figures?

{mosads}Is technology so available and portable that anyone can criticize or publish a message via Facebook or Twitter that is a bit in the gray area? Do we have so much liberty that we are abusing it? What is the limit? Or should there be a limit? The two examples mentioned above were high on the provocation scale.

But is there such a large cleavage in society now, an identity crisis or cultural divide in these difficult economic times, like in France, between Old France and New France?

Freedom of speech is guaranteed by the French constitution and the human rights set out in Article 11 in Aug. 26, 1789; however, we are witness to the freedom of the press having been curtailed in many countries, such as Iran, Russia and Turkey. With technology advancing so quickly, is there not a legal void betweent the technology we use to do selfies or to film an event seen on the street and the rights that accompany that image captured or filmed?

Indeed, this attack (one journalist was under police protection for more than eight years) was a heinous crime and should be severely punished. In fact, at this writing the French Ministry of Interior has already identified the perpetrators as being two brothers known to police services. They have already located the car used in this attack. Thanks to 1,106 video surveillance cameras installed in Paris by former President Nicolas Sarkozy, the policemen will certainly able to identify and to track these men and “neutralize them,” in the words of French Minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve.

French President François Hollande has decreed three days of mourning and flags are already flying at half mast. The police will be guarding schools, places of worship, radio and TV stations, and newspaper offices.

This attack was preceeded by three lone-wolf attacks just before Christmas along a geographic west-east line from Nantes to Dijon.

Have the more than 950 French jihadists come home to attack the homeland?

Wasylina is the president and founder of the Observatory of the Black, Gulf and Mediterranean Seas.