France Soir, the French daily that yesterday re-printed the infamous Mohammed cartoons originally published by Danish paper Jyllands Posten in September 2005 (see previous posting and here and here), has fired its managing director Jacques Lefranc and issued an apology for the re-printing of the cartoons.

Raymond Lakah, owner of France Soir, stated he had "decided to remove Jacques Lefranc as managing director of the publication as a powerful sign of respect for the intimate beliefs and convictions of every individual .. We express our regrets to the Muslim community and all people who were shocked by the publication" of the caricatures.

France's Foreign Minister made the following statement concerning the reprinting of the cartoons: "A French daily reprinted cartoons published in the Danish press ... France is a country where respect and tolerance are associated with freedom of expression ... France condemns everything that wounds individuals' beliefs or religious convictions."

Dalil Boubakeur, head of the French Council for the Muslim religion described France Soir's actions as "real provocation." The paper had declared that the decision to publish the cartoons came "not from an appetite for gratuitous publication, but because they constitute the subject of a controversy on a global scale which has done nothing to maintain balance and mutual limits in democracy, respect of religious beliefs and freedom of expression."

France Soir was not the only newspaper to reprint the caricatures, newspapers in the Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, Holland, Spain and Switzerland reprinted all or some of the cartoons, and still more papers plan to publish them. In the US, The Los Angeles Times plans to reprint them this weekend.

Arnaud Levy editor in chief of France Soir asserted there had been no coordination amongst European papers as regards the reprinting of the cartoons.

Today's edition of France Soir carries no mention of the sacking of the managing director of publication. It does however include an editorial defending yesterday's publication of the caricatures.

Serge Faubert writes: "The best way to fight against censorship is to prevent censorship from happening. In this circumstance that meant publishing the cartoons. Like about 10 other European newspapers did at the same time. This does not mean we approve of the message of these cartoons. We have just made Voltaire's formula our own; The formula, in substance says the following: 'I do not agree with what you have to say, but I will fight for your right to say it'. We have no desire to provoke, to add fuel to the fire as some have suggested. A fundamental principle guarenteeing democracy and secular society is under threat. To say nothing is to retreat; To where, To when?"

Alongside the editorial are four famously controversial pictures concerned blasphelmous towards Christianity.

Sources: AFP (registration required), Media Guardian, (through the EJC), The International Herald Tribune, Newspaperindex.com