The defiant special edition of Charlie Hebdo, which has a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad on its cover, was produced both "in sadness and in joy," its editor said Tuesday.
"We are pleased we have done it," the magazine's chief editor, Gerard Briard, told reporters at a news conference in Paris to mark its publication six days after an attack that left 12 dead.
Three million copies of the magazine will go on sale, in 16 languages. The cover shows as bug-eyed Muhammad shedding a tear and holding a sign that says "Je Suis Charlie," the now-popular phrase that connotes solidarity with the magazine.
"I am not worried about the cover because people are intelligent," said the cartoonist who drew the image, Renald Luzier, known as "Luz."
He added that workers at the magazine were grateful for the response to Wednesday's attack.
"If this did anything, it made people take to the streets. It has been a while since people took to the streets in Paris. I want the spirit of Charlie to prevail not just in Charlie but everywhere. If we can make ideas live, we can win."
Briard also thanked supporters of the magazine, including celebrity backers Arnold Schwarzenegger and George Clooney — adding in a joke that Clooney could not become a subscriber because the women in the magazine's office would have access to his address and number.
Luzier, who was among the survivors of the attack, spoke of the power of drawing as a source of emotional support and said the terrorists responsible would have drawn then they were children.
"They drew, just like we did, just like all children do. At some point they lose their childhood soul, their ability to look at the world with a certain distance."
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