Against Terrorists' Expectations?

Je Suis Charlie?
Photo: Splash News

I doubt that this is what the terrorists wanted:

The first edition of Charlie Hebdo published since last week’s deadly attack by Islamist gunmen sold out within minutes at newspaper kiosks around France on Wednesday, with readers queuing up for copies to support the satirical weekly. ("Charlie Hebdo 'All Is Forgiven' edition sells out in minutes," The New York Post, Reuters, January 14, 2015)

I notice that the individual in the photo is holding three copies! But there are plenty more:

A total of 5 million copies of the so-called "survivors' edition" are to be printed, dwarfing the normal 60,000 print run.

Why are people buying it? Here's why:

"I've never bought it before, it's not quite my political stripes, but it's important for me to buy it today and support freedom of expression," said David Sullo, standing at the end of a queue of two dozen people at a kiosk in central Paris.

If I were in France, maybe I'd also buy a copy to defend freedom of expression, even though "it's not quite my political stripes" either, and I strongly doubt the 'humor' would make me laugh.