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Comparative Analysis: How to Speak about Charlie Hebdo (Valls and Le Pen)

Charlie Hebdo Marine Le Pen word cloud

Word Cloud of Marine Le Pen's speech on January 16, 2015, following the Charlie Hebdo and Hypercasher terrorist attacks. 

The lexical field is dominated by Islamism, fundamentalism and creates a network of guilt by association: "communautarisme", "immigration", "étrangère" are linked by lexical proximity to the pejorative "radical", "terroriste", "fundamentaliste", "djhiadiste".

 
By contrast, the speech of Prime Minister Manuel Valls puts forward the unity of the nation ("France," "Republique," "lien," "nationale"), values ("valeurs," "laïcité," "liberté," "démocratie"), means to protect ("services de renseignement," "protection," "réponses," "force", "l'école") and mentions the victims ("juifs"). He mentions the attackers ("terrorisme", "terrorists", "radicalisation") but does not confuse them with immigration or islam at large.