Where to buy a copy of Charlie Hebdo

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jan/14/where-buy-copy-charlie-hebdo-magazine

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The curious paradox is that while about 50 times more copies of Charlie Hebdo will be on sale this week than the last issue, in many places it will still be difficult to track down the French satirical magazine.

One of the few agreed facts about the publication plans for the first issue since the attack on the magazine’s offices last week is that 3 million copies will be available, rather than the usual 60,000.

At a press conference in Paris on Tuesday the editor-in-chief, Gerard Biard, said French, Italian and Turkish versions of the “survivors’ issue” will be printed, with translations in English, Spanish and Arabic offered in electronic form. Earlier, however, a columnist for the magazine, Patrick Pelloux, had said the edition would be printed in 16 languages in 25 countries.

But whatever the language, here’s a brief guide to how you might get a copy.

France

The magazine is usually available at news stands across France, with a print run of about 60,000 copies. However, demand will soar on Wednesday and for the last couple of days customers have been asking newspaper sellers to set a copy aside. The sellers say they don’t yet know exactly how many copies they will receive, and are telling customers they can’t promise to have enough copies on Wednesday, although further deliveries are apparently promised on Thursday.

One newspaper seller in Paris said on Tuesday he couldn’t guarantee being able to set a copy aside because of the uncertainty about the number of magazines he would receive. He said it would make sense to show up as early as possible to find out.

US

American demand for the magazine is so intense that message boards have sprung up on Reddit, with posters from around the world asking French members to mail copies to the midwest and Italy. Some have recommended subscribing to Charlie Hebdo for around $181 (£119), but it’s unclear if new subscribers will receive the upcoming edition.

And bookstores and news stands around New York have been flooded with requests. “I can’t promise you anything,” said Miriam Bridenne, community manager of Albertine, a French-American bookstore in New York’s upper east side neighbourhood. She said “tons of people” had called attempting to reserve copies. “I can’t take any reservations at this time because we don’t know how many we’re going to get.”

A clerk at Barnes and Noble in Union Square, one of the busiest book shops in New York City, said the store has never carried the magazine, but that hasn’t stopped dozens of patrons from asking for it.

UK

About 1,000 copies of this week’s Charlie Hebdo issue are likely to be available in the UK, although mainly from specialist newsagents and foreign language bookshops. Major retailers seem likely to stick to their normal policy of not stocking the satirical weekly.

Only about 30 copies of Charlie Hebdo are thought to be sold in the UK in a normal week. UK magazine distributor Comag is understood to have increased this to somewhere between 700 and 1,200 copies for this week’s special edition.

London is sometimes described as France’s sixth biggest city, home to an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 French nationals, but despite the demand, Charlie Hebdo’s content is perhaps too much of a risk for the major retailers to consider stocking.

WH Smith, one of the UK’s largest sellers of magazines, has no intention of approaching distributors about stocking the title. “It is not a title we normally stock, so it won’t be available in our stores,” said a spokeswoman.

Nevertheless, there are still a number of specialist newsagents and bookshops looking to get their hands on copies for their customers. A representative of Good News on Berwick Street, central London, told the Guardian that it has had 100 people a day asking for a copy of this week’s issue, which features cartoons of the prophet Muhammad.

“We will be selling it on a first come, first served basis when we get it,” said a member of staff at the French Bookshop in South Kensington.

But the satirical magazine will not be available until Friday, two days after its publication in Paris.

“It does not cross the channel until Friday,” said a member of staff at the French Bookshop, who added: “We will be selling it on a first-come, first-served basis when we get it.”

Canada

With about 10 million French speakers Canada would seem a natural destination for copies of the magazine. However, its distributor in the country says they are expecting a total of about 1,000 of the latest issue, the bulk of which will go to retailers in Montreal.

Elsewhere it could be tricky. Cathy Ola from a Toronto news stand told the Global News website that the magazine was “very in demand”, with 35 people on a list, some of whom might be disappointed when it arrives next week.

LS Distribution North America told the website they are expecting just over 1,000 copies, as against a usual Canadian distribution of about 100.

Australia

According to MLP, the French press distribution company which works with Charlie Hebdo, the new edition will be available in Australia for the first time. However, sales are likely to be limited, not least after Australia’s federal human rights commissioner warned that many of the magazine’s cartoons would currently be banned under racial discrimination laws. Tim Wilson backed calls for the law to be changed. ABC News quoted him as saying: “Around the world, if you’re going to say you believe in free speech and that people should have the freedom to offend or insult somebody, then the solution cannot be censorship. That is what we have in Australia today. We have a law that makes it unlawful to offend or insult somebody.”

eBay

And if all else fails? Predictably, a number of sellers – mainly in France – are already offering pre-ordered copies of the magazine for sale on the online auction site. Starting prices are as high as $90 (£59).