French comic investigated for Charlie Hebdo remark

PARIS - The Paris prosecutor's office says it has opened an investigation into the controversial comic Dieudonne after a Facebook post in which he said "I feel like Charlie Coulibaly."

The post from Dieudonne, who has faced allegations of anti-Semitism for a gesture that many say mimics a Nazi salute, has since been taken down. It merges the names of Charlie Hebdo, the satirical newspaper where two gunmen massacred 12 people, with that of Amedy Coulibaly, who prosecutors say killed four hostages at a kosher supermarket. All three gunmen were killed in nearly simultaneous raids by security forces.

The investigation for "defending terrorism" was opened on Monday, said prosecutor's spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre. In France, incitement to hatred is against the law, and people are usually prosecuted under it for hate crimes involving race or religion.

According to a profile of Dieudonne in the New Yorker magazine early last year, the comic has been convicted several times of inciting racial hate.

"Dieudonne has made a career out of walking (and often crossing) a fine line between mocking racial stereotypes and using them," Alexander Stille writes in the profile.

Meanwhile, French security forces were mobilizing in their search for what the prime minister called a "probable accomplice" to three days of bloodshed and terror around the capital, as well as to try to ensure the safety of the French people.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the search was urgent because "the threat is still present."

France's defense minister said Monday the country was mobilizing 10,000 security forces to protect the population. Jean-Yves Le Drian said the deployment would begin Tuesday, and was to focus on the most sensitive locations.

Le Drian did not specify which locations would be the emphasis of the added security, but Jewish schools and places popular with tourists were already seeing additional police presence.