Tout est Pardonné (All is Forgiven)

The unity march that took place on Sunday is like a ‘bad act to follow.’

The streets are quieter than usual, the security presence is more acute and life is trying to get back to normal, but having a tough time. I figure the average ‘Jean’ is making up for lost time back at work, while discussing the last week of events and what they mean for the future of France and the world.

Charlie Hebdo ended up publishing three million copies today, a little more than the usual 50,000! What a shooting star the controversial publication has become, thanks to a handful of angry terrorists who were willing to risk their own lives in the name of their Prophet and the 17 victims who have become heroes of France and symbols of freedom.

This morning I was an hour late and a dollar short to get a copy of the issue. By 7:15 a.m. when I hit the stand, they were all sold out…everywhere! Kein Cross, owner of Club RaYé, who spoke yesterday at Parler Paris Après Midi about “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Opening a Business in Paris, and Were Afraid of the Answers!” was one of those three million who woke up early enough to stand in line and get a treasured copy when the kiosks opened, long before dawn at 5:30 a.m.

“I got my copy of Charlie  Hebdo — only waited one hour, and the limit was one per person. They only had 420 copies at the newspaper stand on Rue Montorgueil and the line was around the corner to Rue Réaumer. They missed a real opportunity to make a lot of money as I was prepared to purchase 20 copies. Mon Dieu! Off to mail my taxes — must be postmarked by the 15th. VIVA LA FRANCE!” Best, Kein

The latest news is that they will be printing another two million, so there may be a chance yet to get a copy, but not sure I’m willing to get to the newsstand by 5:30 a.m.!

Kein gave a fascinating recount of the trials and tribulations of opening his own club here in Paris that took about one year to get up and running. When asked how it compared to opening a business in the U.S., he said, “It’s 100 times more difficult. It made me seriously appreciate the good old U.S. of A.” He is not one to be deterred, as you can see by his eagerness to get to the newsstand early this morning, but agreed that it was one of his greatest challenges. (Read all about it at adrianleeds.com/apresmidi)

Bloomberg News has a great article about Charlie Hebdo that offers a lot of detail about the publication, which was on a downhill slide over the years — down to as little as 30,000 subscribers at one time. Imagine, today’s issue is 100 times that, and sold by 6 a.m.! The story is pretty amazing about cartoonist, Rénald Luzier, (known as Luz), who survived the attack thanks to having slept in late and stopped off to buy a cake to celebrate his birthday with his co-workers, arriving late just after the attack. He’s the artist who produced today’s cover showing Prophet Muhammad holding a sign saying, “Je suis Charlie” (“I am Charlie”), with the words “Tout est pardonné” (“All is forgiven”) above it on a green background. He was reported to have said “I was saved by love and gluttony,”

Financial aid has poured in to support the struggling weekly — from the French government, Google, Inc., The Guardian, La Libération and others are getting on the bandwagon such as Le Monde and Radio France. Donations are being taken from the public and you can subscribe to the magazine at  charliehebdo.fr/index.

Meanwhile, the media is buzzing with talk about both the Jewish and Muslim communities in France and everywhere. Everyone is concerned about the reaction from both sides of the fence, with ‘secularism’ in the mix. The point to “Je suis Charlie” is that we are all part of humanity, regardless of our race, color or creed, and while the rhetoric is so fundamental to peace in the world, do we really believe that?

Some of us do, but too many of us don’t. If we really took this rhetoric to heart, perhaps we could end our wars, never see another terrorist attack again and even remove the need for Charlie Hebdo’s sense of humor. Isn’t that why it exists?…To show us all that we do have the ability to look at ourselves and realize our own follies? Can we forgive them? Can we forgive ourselves?

A la prochaine,

Adrian Leeds

The Adrian Leeds Group

(with Kein Cross)

Respond to Adrian

P.S. A special thank you to all of you who wrote comments in response to our past missives with your heartfelt thoughts about the recent events as well as your opinions regarding our words. We read them all and take them to heart. Very soon, you will have the ability to post your comments yourself for all to read when Parler Paris moves to a blog format. Stay tuned!

P.P.S. Is 2015 the year you will realize your dream of buying property in Paris? The Adrian Leeds Group can help — we are now listing properties for sale in Paris and other parts of France. Visit Parler France Properties to see four outstanding properties in the best Parisian neighborhoods. We only represent properties of exceptional quality, so you can trust you will make the best purchase and investment.