Charlie Hebdo's editor-in-chief Gerard Briard (L) looks on as French cartoonist Renald Luzier, aka Luz, blows a kiss after holding a press conference in Paris on Tuesday to present the new issue of Charlie Hebdo at the offices of French newspaper Liberation. This week's post-attack edition of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo will be made available in six languages including English, Arabic and Turkish. Photo: AFP

In a show of defiance, Charlie Hebdo will publish a front page showing a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad in its first edition since Islamist gunmen attacked the satirical newspaper.

With demand surging for the edition due on Wednesday, the weekly planned to print up to 3 million copies, dwarfing its usual run of 60,000, after news agents reported that large numbers of customers around the country were placing orders.

Analysts are concerned that the new cover could incite new anti-West sentiment in the Muslim world and warned that its political consequence could be profound.

A total of 17 people were killed in three days of violence that began when two Islamist militants burst into Charlie Hebdo's weekly editorial meeting, opening fire in revenge for the paper's publication of satirical images of Muhammad in the past.

The front page of the January 14 edition shows Muhammad, a tear on his cheek, holding a sign saying "JE SUIS CHARLIE" ("I am Charlie") below the headline "TOUT EST PARDONNE" ("All is forgiven").

The new edition of Charlie Hebdo, known for its satirical attacks on Islam and other religions, will include other cartoons featuring the Prophet Muhammad, as well as content mocking politicians and other religions, its lawyer, Richard Malka, told France Info radio on Monday.

"We will not back down, otherwise none of this has any meaning," Richard Malka told French radio. "If you hold the banner 'I am Charlie,' that means you have the right to blaspheme, you have the right to criticize my religion."

The new issue is also coming out in English, Arabic and Turkish, AFP reported.

One newspaper vendor in central Paris said he had already received 200 advance orders for Charlie Hebdo and was stopping there as he could no longer cope.

There was no official reaction from the government on the weekly's decision.

Zhao Lei, an international relations professor from the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, believes the first post-attack edition of Charlie Hebdo speaks to a deeply-rooted sense of Western superiority among European nations.

Zhao said that right-wing forces in Europe are likely to gain stronger support across the continent, while European governments may tighten their immigration policies.

"Despite the [fact that the] death toll was not as high as 9/11, [the Charlie Hedbo attack's] political impact could be of similar significance," he told the Global Times.

President Francois Hollande on Tuesday led a ceremony in Paris paying final respects to three police officers, including one Muslim, who were killed in last week's violence. A separate funeral was held in Jerusalem for four Jewish victims of a hostage-taking in a kosher deli in Paris.

Hollande said the police officer posted in Charlie Hebdo's offices died defending a freedom of expression based on "an insolence, an impertinence which expresses an independence."

The attack could also prompt policy change in the US as US House Speaker John Boehner vowed on Tuesday that the House of Representatives this week will fully fund the Department of Homeland Security while blocking Obama's action on immigration.

The measure was expected to pass by Wednesday, Reuters reported.

On Sunday, at least 3.7 million people throughout France took part in marches supporting Charlie Hebdo and freedom of expression. World leaders linked arms to lead more than a million people through Paris in homage to the victims.

In the wake of the violence, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said 10,000 troops were being deployed at sensitive sites, such as mosques, synagogues and airports.

France's Islamic council called on the government to step up protection of mosques, saying that 50 anti-Islamic acts had been reported since the attack on Charlie Hebdo last Wednesday.

However, Abdallah Zekri, head of the National Observatory against Islamophobia, said Muslim sites were not getting the same protection as Jewish synagogues or schools.

Wang Jinglie, a research fellow at the Middle East and Africa Research Network, said the weekly's new cover will spark discontent among Muslims around the world.

"In some Middle Eastern countries, the magazine could further incite anti-Western sentiment. Western countries should stop politicizing religious issues, as it nurtures cultural opposition and religious extremism."

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined a Muslim community rally Tuesday to promote tolerance, condemn the jihadist attacks in Paris and send a rebuke to Germany's growing anti-Islamic movement.

"What we need to do now is to use all the means at our disposal as a constitutional state to combat intolerance and violence," Merkel said at a conference in Berlin.

Her comments came a day after a record-high 25,000 anti-Islam demonstrators marched in the eastern German city of Dresden to demand stricter immigration rules and an end to multiculturalism.

Nearly 100,000 people are estimated to have participated in counter-demonstrations against racism in other marches across Germany on Monday.

Agencies contributed to this story