On the morning of January 7th 2015 two men, Chérif and Saïd Kouachi, stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical newspaper. Armed with Kalashnikovs, the pair murdered 12 people, including eight editorial staff, in less than two minutes. The perpetrators, who were linked to al-Qaeda, did not pick Charlie Hebdo by chance. For years, the irreverent newspaper had poked fun at religion, including Islam. It was the start of the worst-ever year of Islamist terrorist attacks in Paris, which killed nearly 150 people.