Conclusions

Summary

Although this book has sought to demonstrate that debates about Charlie Hebdo in recent decades are far from the only lens through which to view French humour, it is undeniable that the impact of the January 2015 attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices have been far reaching. They have led to much reflection on the nature and limits of humour, as well as broader questions concerning the freedom of expression. Furthermore, such discussions have concerned much more than just cartoons and indeed several of the stand-up comedians whose work has been discussed in this book have commented on the impact of the attacks on either their own attitude to being a comedian or French society as a whole. In 2016, the comedian Stéphane Guillon commented that ‘si on peut mourir pour un dessin, alors on peut mourir pour un sketch’ [‘if you can die for a drawing, then you can die for a sketch’]. Although the 2015 attacks have undoubtedly led some comedians to reconsider how they treat potentially sensitive issues – and indeed had an impact on some attempts by academics to organize events focused on the Charlie Hebdo attacks – they have also led to other performers steadfastly refusing to alter the way that they approach controversial topics. After exploring the general impact of the 2015 terrorist attacks on French humour and humourists, this conclusion will focus on the perennial question of ‘peut-on rire de tout?’ [‘can one laugh about everything?’] in order to assess contemporary attitudes to humour in France. It will then broaden its focus to consider what humour can achieve before assessing what the four case studies examined here demonstrate about French humour and the ways in which it focuses on others and otherness.

The impact of the Charlie Hebdo attacks on humour in France

When discussing the impact of terrorist attacks in France on those who perform stand-up comedy, it is important to consider the impact of not just the January 2015 attacks on Charlie Hebdo but also the November 2015 attacks on sites in Paris such as the Bataclan. Although the event taking place at the Bataclan was a concert being performed by the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal rather than a comedy event, it was still an event that – like stand-up comedy – can be categorized as part of what is known in France as le spectacle vivant [live performance].