Charlie Hebdo: Newsagent inundated with orders for satirical French magazine says she is not afraid

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A newsagent in a Gloucestershire suburb who has been inundated with orders for the first post-attack issue of Charlie Hebdo, has said she will stock the French satirical magazine to promote free speech.

The newsagent put a handwritten note in the window to alert customers that they can order the special international 'survivors' issue of Charlie Hebdo, after an initial customer enquiry sparked interest.

The shop has since received over 200 requests from customers to order the magazine. The newsagent believes hers is one of the first stores to publicly announce it is stocking the magazine, as she has received orders from as far afield as Scotland, Wales, Huddersfield and the Isle of Wight.

A sign in the shop read: "One off!! Charlie Hebdo Mag. On sale Friday 16th Jan", but has since been taken down.

More than 2,000 copies of the special edition of Charlie Hebdo are to go on sale in the UK on Wednesday.

In total, up to three million copies of the edition are believed to have been printed in France ahead of tomorrow's publication date - well up from the magazine’s usual run of 60,000 copies.

The issue will be the first in the wake of terror attacks in Paris in which 17 people were killed in two separate attacks by Islamic extremists.

The attack at the Charlie Hebdo office by the Kouachi brothers was believed to have been in retaliation against controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed previously featured in the publication.

Witnesses reported that the pair shouted: “We have avenged the Prophet Mohamed” during the massacre.

When a customer told the newsagent that is brave for planning to stock the issue which will feature an image of the Prophet Mohamed on its front cover she became so nervous she was shaking.

But following support from her neighbours, she has declared that she is no longer afraid.

“That’s all gone now. I’m going to go for it, I’m focused. I’m not going to be nervous and I’m not going to shake, I’m going to have a positive mind,” she told The Independent.

“I was scared this morning, but I know I’m providing a service for people who want to buy this magazine so I'm going to go for it. And now I’m fine”.

“Nobody has come in and threatened me. Everyone is so happy and absolutely supporting me. It was just my own nerves.”

She went on to describe how important the issue is to her and her customers, adding that some of the people who placed orders could not understand French.

“It’s for free speech, some of them don’t even speak or read French. I don’t speak French and I don’t read French at all, but I kept one copy for myself for future generations”.

“Future generations can learn about the cartoon, and how it is OK to make people laugh and it’s not something to be upset about.”

“We’re basically a village shop which is on the map now,” she said.