Hebdo plaque misspells Jewish cartoonist's name

Widow of Georges Wolinski is ‘furious’ over mistake, ‘hard pressed to see the humor’

The widow of one of the Jewish cartoonists slain in last year’s attack on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo said she was livid to see her husband’s name misspelled on a plaque unveiled Tuesday by President Francois Hollande.

Georges Wolinski’s name appeared as “Georges Wolinsky” on the plaque listing the 11 people shot dead in the attack by jihadist gunmen at the newspaper’s then offices in Paris on January 7, 2015.

“This morning, when I saw the ‘Y,’ I can tell you I was furious,” Maryse Wolinski told French television.

She said she pointed it out straight away to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who had unveiled the plaque alongside the president, and was assured that the mistake would be quickly corrected.

Asked what her cartoonist husband would have thought of the typo, Wolinski suggested it was no joking matter.

“He didn’t like it at all when (his name was spelled with a ‘Y’) — that I can tell you. And as for me… frankly I’m hard pressed to see the humor in it because I am too angry.”

The error has been fixed temporarily, and a proper replacement plaque is expected in two days.

Wolinski, who has frequently questioned the security provided for the magazine, has written a book that she describes as a “counter-investigation” into the attack.

Georges Wolinski (photo credit: Alvaro/ Wkipedia Commons/ JTA)

The book, to be published on the one-year anniversary Thursday, is titled “Cherie, Je Vais a Charlie” (Honey, I’m Heading to Charlie).

Another Charlie Hebdo attack widow, Ingrid Brinsolaro, has filed a lawsuit claiming that her husband, a police bodyguard, was left vulnerable because of inadequate security at the newspaper’s offices.

Her husband, Franck Brinsolaro, was guarding cartoonist Charb and was killed alongside him.

Wolinski, a Jewish Tunisian native who moved to France as a teenager, was known for his cynical and at times vulgar style. He was 80 years old at the time of his death. After entering journalism in the 1960s, he went on to work at leading French publications such as L’Humanite, Le Nouvel Observateur and Paris Match.