Whereas previously liberals would be entirely behind Voltaire, there are now shades of relativism. The massacre of journalists at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015 was followed by widespread condemnation and revulsion; however, sections of liberal condemnation were tinged with a “but perhaps the satirists went too far.” This is something new for Europe in the modern age and is part of its culture wars, all of which loop back into attitudes toward the European political structures.
