Paris, Jan 13 (Agencies) : Charlie Hebdo's cartoonist broke down today as he explained his reasons for drawing the Prophet Mohammad on tomorrow's controversial front cover.

The image depicts the Prophet shedding a single tear and holding a sign which declares: 'Je Suis Charlie'.
Above the figure, who is drawn in a comic style wearing a turban, the text declares: 'Tout est pardonné (All is forgiven)'.
Weeping repeatedly during an emotional press conference, cartoonist Renald 'Luz' Luzier said the image represented 'just a little guy who's crying'.

Then he confirmed, unapologetically: 'Yes, it is Mohammad.'

Staff from the satirical newspaper also vowed to continue with their work and confirmed further details of the new edition out tomorrow.
Mr Luzier, who escaped the massacre because he had overslept by half an hour, described crying after he drew the picture.
He said: 'We are cartoonists and we like drawing little characters, just as we were as children.

'The terrorists, they were kids, they drew just like we did, just like all children do.

'At one point, they lost their sense of humour. At one point, they lost the soul of their child which allowed them to look at the world with a certain distance.'

He added: 'I'm sorry we've drawn him yet again, but the Mohammad we've drawn is just a little guy who's crying.'

Charlie Hebdo's editor-in-chief Gerard Biard told the press conference in Paris that three million copies of the magazine's latest edition will go on sale for two weeks.

The so-called 'Survivors' Issue' will be translated into three languages - English, Spanish and Arabic, he added.

Mr Biard said the edition had been 'drawn up in pain and joy', adding: 'We're happy to have got to it and it's been tough.'
He said: 'The main story was complicated because, of course, it had to say something about us, and it had to say something about the event we were faced with.

'This edition - the whole of Charlie Hebdo is in it. This edition is Charlie Hebdo.'

Mr Biard thanked the 'thousands and thousands' of people who have sent messages of support, including Hollywood stars George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has subscribed to the magazine.

'There will be a future, there's no doubt about that,' he said. 'We don't quite know precisely what it's going to look like.

'There's going to be a paper. There won't be an interruption. In other words, in two weeks' time, there will be another Charlie Hebdo.'