France's Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed on Saturday that a museum containing a collection of newspaper and magazine cartoons will open in France in 2027 some five years behind schedule.
President Emmanuel Macron announced plans in 2020 for a House of Press Cartoons during his New Year's address to the nation.
But the proposals to open the collection in 2022 were held up due to the coronavirus pandemic.
And as France prepares to mark 10 years since terror attacks targeting satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket left 17 people dead in Paris, Dati said on social media that the idea proposed by one of the victims in the slaughter would see the light of day in 2027.
"Press cartoons are an elaborate and precious form of democratic impertinence that we must defend," Dati added. "In 2025, the commitment made by the President of the Republic will be kept."
Georges Wolinski, who had been advocating a similar museum since 2007, was among the 11 people who were murdered when brothers Chérif and Saïd Kouachi attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris on 7 January 2015.
A 12th person was killed as the duo made their getaway. A day later, Amedy Coulibaly killed a policewoman in Montrouge to the south of Paris and on 9 January shot dead four hostages at a Jewish supermarket in Porte de Vincennes, eastern Paris. The three men, who died in shoot-outs with police, claimed allegiance to terrorist organisations.
The Kouachis said they carried out a revenge assault after the magazine published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
In September 2021, a few months before her death, Wolinski's widow, Maryse, and six other cartoonists including survivors of the attack, called on Macron to honour his promise.
Dati said on Saturday she would submit architectural plans to her officials. "Work will then begin," she added. "Under my authority, the Ministry of Culture will oversee the project and its financing. The aim is to open to the public in 2027.
"This house of press cartoons will be a place of remembrance for those who fell in the service of freedom of expression, freedom to draw, freedom to caricature. It's up to us not to forget them."
As part of the events to commemorate the attacks, Charlie Hebdo will release a special double issue on Tuesday featuring results of a competition asking readers to draw God, alongside a poll on French attitudes to religious caricatures, blasphemy and free speech.
The National Audiovisual Institute (INA) is also showcasing archival footage of the events online.
Legacy of provocation
Since its founding in 1970, Charlie Hebdo has been known for pushing the boundaries of free speech, often attracting censure for its provocative tone.
Critics accuse the magazine of Islamophobia, pointing to caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed that some argue associate Islam with terrorism.
Free speech defenders in France regard the ability to criticise and ridicule religion as a fundamental right acquired through centuries of struggle to reduce the influence of the Catholic Church.
In December 2020, 14 people were convicted for helping the Kouachi brothers and Coulibaly plan and carry out the attacks.
