By Elsa Buchanan,
Less than 48 hours after the violent attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo left 12 dead, a macabre business around “Je Suis Charlie” has been emerging on the internet. Phone cases and personalised T-shirts vendors are using the tragedy to make money.
You can now buy your personalised “Je Suis Charlie” T-shirt for €20, or perhaps you fancy a “Je Suis Charlie” Iphone cover instead?
Less than 48 hours after the violent attack on France’s satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo left 12 dead, a sad business has emerged online around the tragedy.
The tremendous success of the keyword #JeSuisCharlie (I am Charlie) was immediately recovered by the t-shirt, mugs or keychains vendors, officiating on websites such as Ebay, or Redbubble.
The internet search “Je Suis Charlie” gives more than 3,225 results on eBay, and the choice is vast: a T-shirt and cap combo could be yours for €15.40, badges go out for €3.50, and keychains €13. There are umbrellas and even military plates.
For €22.99, you can also acquire a pair of tracksuit jogging pants with the words written on your right leg. On Rebbubble, a personalised T-shirt the now iconic keyword in white letters against a black background reaches €16.49.
Almost immediately after the attacks, emblematic issues of the newspaper as, for example, that published the day before the attack, or the provocative “Charia Hebdo” issue of 2 November 2011 were put up on the online auction side eBay.
Some of them have reached mind-boggling prices up to €75,000.
However, eBay came forward yesterday Thursday 8 January and announced commissions from the sale of official “products” of Charlie Hebdo operated on the platform would be given to Charlie Hebdo.
On Thursday, the site emphasised that the ads “that do not meet [their] terms of use” will be deleted.
“In France, we will give Charlie Hebdo any fees charged by eBay sales of the magazine Charlie Hebdo and products related to the tragedy,” the site added.
Meanwhile, Pardon!, a Reunion-based company, yesterday launched a series of 500 “Je suis Charlie” T-shirts and promised total online sales will be donated to the newspaper so it can continue to express themselves.
“This is certainly not enough but we wanted to do something,” Pardon! declared in a statement on their Facebook page.
“We are shocked and sickened by the murderous outrage committed against Charlie Hebdo magazine, which we are so close from in our freedom of expression.”
As French police were closing in on two gunmen who attacked the Paris office in an apparent Islamist attack, Phillipe Val, the director of the satirical magazine, announced one million copies of magazine will be published next Wednesday, in a vow to keep it running.
