A Ukrainian political commentator drew the ire of the French ambassador in Kiev after joking that Monday's devastating fire at Notre Dame might be linked to the visit of the frontrunner in the Ukrainian presidential election.The French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo reacted in its usual crass fashion:
A staunch supporter of the incumbent Ukrainian president and frequent guest on president-friendly political talk shows in Ukraine seemed to cross the line when he tried to score a few political points for his patron amid the Notre Dame Cathedral fire.
On Monday, while the world was watching the huge blaze destroy the iconic gothic cathedral in Paris, Taras Berezovets found some tongue-in-cheek words of encouragement for French President Emmanuel Macron:
"Well, Macron is lucky that after Zelensky's visit, only Notre Dame de Paris burned down. Elysee Palace could have caught fire too," he tweeted in Russian. The tweet remained for about a day before being taken down by Berezovets.Zelensky is a comedian-turned-politician who is slated to become the next president of Ukraine, much to the chagrin of the current leader, Petro Poroshenko. Like many other pundits, Berezovets has been busy these last two weeks, desperately trying to undermine Zelensky.© Taras Berezovets/TwitterThe now-deleted tweet by Taras Berezovets.
The tactless joke drew the ire of Isabelle Dumont, France's ambassador in Kiev, who retweeted it with a response in Russian: "How dare you! Shame." She also tagged the Ukrainian foreign minister and the ministry's official Twitter account.
The minister, Pavlo Klimkin, did find time to express his condolences to the French people over the damage done to the historic church, but is yet to respond to Dumont.
However, one foreign ministry did react to the French ambassador's tweet - Russia's.
"Why are you surprised? It's your school," the @MID_RF account responded, posting a cartoon published by French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo after a plane crash killed most members of a Russian military choir in 2016.
Ironically, Berezovets seems to have endorsed this assessment. After deleting the tweet, he posted an explanation on Facebook, citing Charlie Hebdo's work in his defense. "How is my right to free expression different from those of my French colleagues?" he asked before seizing the opportunity to attack Zelensky again over jokes he made as a comedian and accusing him of unleashing a "troll factory" to hound him for the tweet.
Controversial satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was slammed after it ran a cartoon depicting the Notre Dame de Paris fire. Critics said it was surprisingly tame compared to the many times it joked about deadly disasters abroad.© Charlie Hebdo
The latest cover shows a grinning French President Emmanuel Macron whose head is shaped like the facade of the iconic Gothic church engulfed in flames. The issue hit the shelves on Tuesday - one day after Notre Dame Cathedral was partially destroyed in a heavy fire, with its spire and roof collapsing.
The word "Reforms" was written on the cover, along with the grotesquely-depicted Macron saying: "I'll start from the frame." It was a reference to a set of measures the president was due to announce in a televised address that day but had to promptly cancel due to the fire.
Some commentators on social media were not amused by Charlie Hebdo's latest cartoon.
"I love your paper. I read it almost every week, but for once it doesn't make me laugh," a French-speaking user wrote.
Particular ire came from Italians who believed the cartoon was too tame compared to more crass caricatures it ran which 'satirized' tragic events on Italian soil that, unlike the Notre Dame fire, claimed multiple lives. Among those were the deadly earthquake in 2016 (299 people killed and thousands left homeless), an avalanche in 2017 (29 killed), and the collapse of a high bridge in Genoa last August (43 killed).
"Hypocrites... Where is the irony and humor now?" one person from Milan wrote.
"A pity there were no deaths [in Notre Dame], eh? You could have come up with a much better irony. That's Italian sarcasm," another user said, while others sarcastically agreed that the magazine could have "done a much better job" mocking the burning cathedral.
"You didn't find humor for this rubble? For the people who died in the earthquake you did," an Italian commentator noted, referring to the way Charlie Hebdo compared the hundreds of Italians killed by the quake to pasta and lasagna.
"Deep and sincere pain for the great monument lost, but for you - only contempt," another added.
Others replied to the magazine with the same dark humor the publication routinely uses. "Excuse me, Charlie, do you have a light? I'm in Italy, and want a smoke after coffee," a user wrote.
Not everyone had an issue with the cover, though. "I don't like this type of humor, but as long as it's not hateful, why not?" a French-speaking commentator suggested, while another thanked Charlie Hebdo for "making me laugh, despite the great sadness I feel."
Some found the choice of metaphor befitting the current state of affairs in France, where President Macron and other politicians are "burning down" the nation's public services and its heritage.Charlie Hebdo is known for mocking politicians and other public figures, but also regularly draws criticism for publishing cartoons on religion, various disasters and terrorist acts, both at home and abroad. In 2015, two Islamist gunmen stormed the magazine's office in Paris, killing 12 people inside, including some of its prominent cartoonists. The attack happened after the magazine ran caricatures on Islam.© Lorena Fuentealba-Noterdaeme/Facebook
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