French media rally to help defiant Charlie Hebdo print a million copies

Surviving members of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo have vowed to push forward with their next edition, increasing the print run to 1 million copies in defiance of the gun attack that killed 10 of their colleagues.

The move was announced Thursday, a day after three masked men entered the controversial weekly’s offices and murdered cartoonists including editor Stephane Charbonnier, other staffers and two police officers.

In the aftermath of the assault, French media has rallied around the publication, offering support, equipment and cash.

"We have decided to continue Charlie with those who survived," Charlie Hebdo’s lawyer Richard Malka told French newspaper Liberation. "It's our way of saying that no, they did not kill Charlie, they haven't won."

Patrick Pelloux, a columnist not in the office at the time of the attack, likewise told a television interviewer that the magazine would come out next week. "It will be tough," he said. "We must not give in."

Malka added that remaining staff had been left with “no computer, no pencil, nothing” following the shooting.

But Radio France, France Television and newspaper Le Monde announced in a statement that they would provide “all the human and material means necessary so that Charlie Hebdo continues to live.”

While the magazine — which courts controversy and has been targeted in the past because of its depictions of the Prophet Muhammad — has a typical print run of 60,000 copies, those involved with the follow-up issue are aiming to print 1 million copies next week. The edition is expected to have eight pages, rather than the usual 16.

Funding for Charlie Hebdo had reportedly surpassed $300,000 within 24 hours of the attack, according to business daily Les Echoes. The largest chunk of cash came from The Digital Innovation Press Fund, an independent French media body partly backed by Google. On Thursday, The U.K.'s Guardian Media Group also pledged a donation of $150,000.

"They wanted to kill Charlie Hebdo," Les Echos chief executive Francis Morel told his staff. "Not only did they not succeed, but we want Charlie Hebdo to emerge stronger from this tragedy."