The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

"We are necessarily taken by this humanity": how Boucq drew the trial of "Charlie Hebdo"

2021-01-21T07:40:45.213Z


For more than two months, the artist immortalized audiences day after day. On the occasion of the release of his book, this Thursday, he


Every day for more than two months, he settled down, discreetly, on a simple chair, in the courtroom of the special court of Paris.

Each day, concentrated, pencils in hand, he caught a glance, sketched out a posture, conveyed an emotion.

Between September 2 and December 14, 2020, François Boucq, cartoonist ("Bouncer", "Face de lune", "Little Tulip" ...) will have made more than 500 sketches of the historic trial of the January 2015 attacks, that of “Charlie Hebdo”, Montrouge and Hyper Cacher.

Published in Charlie and in a daily newsletter, they are grouped together, with a few unpublished items, in “January 2015. The Trial”, which comes out this Thursday;

a book of over 200 pages, accompanied by chronicles by novelist Yannick Haenel.

Chronologically, testimony after testimony, the work plunges into the atmosphere, sometimes suffocating, often upsetting, of this long-term trial, as close as possible to the actors of the attacks.

François Boucq, who had already covered the Carlton trial in which DSK appeared, tells us how he lived his intense moments.

How did you end up participating in this trial?

FRANÇOIS BOUCQ.

Very simply.

Riss, Charlie's editor, offered me lunch.

He took the opportunity to ask me if I wanted to make the drawings for the trial.

I accepted right away, without really thinking.

It seemed to me that it was important to do it.

I didn't really know what I was getting into.

Little is known about it, but since 2015, you have been working at Charlie under a pseudo ...

Yes, because my mom didn't want me to work at Charlie after the attacks.

But Riss had offered it to me and I couldn't see myself refusing.

Hence the nickname ...

François Boucq was present every day, from 9 a.m. and sometimes until 10 p.m.

François Boucq / Editions Charlie Hebdo-Les Echappés  

You were close to victims of the Charlie attacks ...

I loved Cabu.

We had known each other since my beginnings as a cartoonist.

When we saw each other, we spent wonderful moments, discussing Charles Trenet and especially drawing.

Wolinski, we met every year at the Angoulême festival.

Newsletter The list of our desires

Our favorites for fun and culture.

Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters

Is that why you accepted?

Yes, there is this sympathy for the newspaper and its cartoonists.

But it is also a political act.

We must defend freedom of expression and Charlie is an emblem.

We do not account in France for the luck we have ... I realized during the trial: what is unbearable for the Islamists is precisely this freedom.

READ ALSO>

Attacks of January 2015: "If we don't live free, what's the point?"

proclaims the director of "Charlie Hebdo"


How did you work on a daily basis?

I was there every day, from 9 a.m. and sometimes until 10 p.m.

I had a room in Clichy: I lived a bit like a student… On the spot, the conditions were not terrible.

I had asked to have a support to draw.

I was told I would just have a chair.

I worked with the notebook, the watercolor, the brushes on my knees.

PODCAST.

January 2015 attacks: plunged into an extraordinary trial (Part 1)

Was that special courtyard atmosphere impressive?

At first, you really feel like you don't belong, that you are an intruder.

And little by little, you become involved, even an actor.

It happened that I was quoted during the hearing, as the drawings appeared from day to day.

Your drawings are particularly expressive and precise.

Is it hard to catch this truth?

You have to be very focused, very attentive.

You have to be able to nab what the person gives you very quickly.

After a while, I became that man or woman at the helm.

I was in his emotion.

I was not thinking, it became obvious.

It is the strength of the drawing.

“January 2015. The trial”, by Yannick Haenel and François Boucq.

François Boucq / Editions Charlie Hebdo-The escaped  

We imagine that there were painful, painful moments ...

Of course, like the testimony of Riss or that of Véronique Cabu.

I also remember that of Mr. Catalano

(Editor's note: the manager of the printing house in which the Kouachi brothers took refuge)

.

He arrived at the bar very dignified, but after 10 minutes he burst into tears.

He gave his entire testimony crying, maybe half an hour.

You are necessarily taken by that, by this humanity.

It's overwhelming to see people indulge like this, almost unexpectedly for themselves.

The real truth is in those moments.

PODCAST.

January 2015 attacks: plunged into an extraordinary trial (Part 2)

Is that what you take away from this trial?

Yes.

In this room, there was everything that humans are capable of doing, from the most sublime to the most cruel.

It was a kind of ark of humanity.

Because potentially, we say to ourselves that we could be at any place in this room, be the victim, the executioner, the judge, the lawyer ... When you listen to the accused, you say to yourself, they are bastards , but you can't seem to be in total rejection.

Have you had any contact with them?

Many have asked me to see my drawings.

Some were not happy.

Others have asked me if I could give it to them.

What I have done.

Do you have the feeling that you have drawn a little for history?

You think about that a bit at first and then you forget.

I take no pride in it.

If that can help make us remember what happened.

What history must remember is that we must never stop fighting against all those who want to shut our mouths up.

“January 2015. The trial”,

by Yannick Haenel and François Boucq.

Ed. Charlie Hebdo-Les Echappés.

217 pages, 22 euros

PODCAST.

January 2015 attacks: plunged into an extraordinary trial (Part 3)

Source: leparis

All life articles on 2021-01-21

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.