When Totally Free Speech Isn't Actually That Free

Even as French leaders have spoken out in defense of free speech and in support of the satirical publication Charlie Hebdo, a French comic has been arrested for hate speech. So how far does free speech in Europe go, exactly?

Erik Bleich, professor of political science at Middlebury College and author of The Freedom to Be Racist? How the United States and Europe Struggle to Preserve Freedom and Combat Racism (Oxford University Press, 2011) discusses freedom of speech laws here and in Europe in light of criticism France is facing for protecting Charlie Hebdo’s political and religious satire while arresting its own residents under questionable accusations of hate speech.