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Where can I buy Charlie Hebdo in the UK?

Although national newsagents are not stocking the special edition, independent stores in Cardiff, Manchester and Belfast have said they would

Rose Troup Buchanan
Friday 16 January 2015 11:44 GMT
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People queue around the corner to get hold of an issue of Charlie Hebdo this morning
People queue around the corner to get hold of an issue of Charlie Hebdo this morning

Newsagents across the country are reporting record queues and requests for the latest edition of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo – but where can you get hold of a copy?

Five million copies of the magazine – which usually has a print run of around 60,000 - have been published in a special edition commemorating the Paris massacre that claimed the lives of 17 victims.

Roughly 2,000 copies are reportedly being distributed in the UK today, a sizeable increase of the 30 or so copies usually sold each week.

A spokesperson for Menzies distribution, who supply newsagents across Scotland, England and Wales, told The Independent: “We have had 100 copies but our distribution was only carried out in the London area.”

UK magazine distributer Comag is understood to have increased their distribution to between 700 and 1,200, the Guardian reports. Comag were unavailable to comment.

Newsagents in the London borough of South Kensington, home to a sizable French community, have faced extensive queues this morning – with most already sold out. La Page and French Bookshop both stocked the edition. Elsewhere in London M2 newsagent (Drury Lane), Good News (Soho) and JL News (Golders Green),

Despite this, French Bookshop owner Robert Anju told The Independent, customers “can make a reservation next week”. He estimates he has received an average of 800 phone calls daily inquiring about the magazine.

In Edinburgh, a member of staff at International Newsagent said although they had received an email asking if they would like to stock the magazine, they had not received any stock.

“I think they must have all gone to London stores, the ones that usually stock them,” The Independent were told.

Bristol residents are unfortunately out of luck with the major supermarkets and shops in the city claiming they have no plans to stock the magazine, according to the Bristol Post.

In Cardiff, although no major newsagents were reported to be stocking the magazine, two small independent vendors confirmed to the Wales Online they would be selling the issue in the city centre.

Manchester residents should head to Magma newsagent, which is the only shop in the city reportedly stocking the edition.

“We have ordered 10 from our distributor but there is no guarantee they will arrive,” assistant manager Tim Bell told the Manchester Evening News yesterday.

Two newsagents in Belfast said yesterday they planned to stock the magazine, with one telling the Belfast Telegraph: “During the Troubles here as a newsagent, I and many other newsagents received threats not to sell certain publications but my view is that if a publication is distributed I will sell it. I have never pulled a publication from the shelves.”

If you are not in London the best chance of getting hold of a copy seems to be online, but be quick: issues are already going for thousands on eBay.

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