On Tuesday, on the sidelines of the Paris rally against the bill on global security, several journalists complained on Tuesday of being prevented from filming arrests and the dispersal of the demonstration completed after clashes with the police.
One of them, an employee of France Télévisions, was arrested during this demonstration and placed in police custody before being released on Wednesday.
The day after these clashes, the Minister of the Interior returned to precisely this case at a press conference on Wednesday.
Gérald Darmanin first noted that the demonstration had become illegal, having exceeded the scheduled time.
The demonstrators should therefore be dispersed, "including people who were journalists".
Moreover, this journalist had not, upstream, "approached the police headquarters, unlike some of his colleagues, to cover this demonstration," he added.
A new pattern of contested policing
When they cover the demonstrations, journalists "must approach the authorities, in this case the departmental prefects, particularly here the Paris police prefect, to report themselves, to be protected by the police, to to be able to report, to do his work as a journalist in the demonstrations, ”the minister developed, based on the new law enforcement plan (SNMO) published in September.
"To avoid confusion at the time of an operation, the national plan for maintaining order that I presented in September provides that journalists can, without having to do so, contact the prefectures before demonstrations “, Saw fit to clarify in the evening Gérald Darmanin in a tweet.
Yes, to avoid confusion during an operation, the national law enforcement plan that I presented in September provides that journalists can, without having to do so, contact the prefectures upstream of demonstrations.
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- Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) November 18, 2020
With regard to demonstrations, this SNMO indeed provides for “a dedicated exchange channel” between the police and “journalists, holders of a press card, accredited to the authorities”, without presenting it as compulsory. .
This provision had raised a sling in the world of the press, some unions believing that it amounted to giving a "green light" to the police to prevent journalists from doing their job during demonstrations.
Questioned on September 23 on France Inter, Gerald Darmanin had mentioned a "misunderstanding" on the subject.
. @ GDarmanin evokes a "misunderstanding" with the journalists: "They have the right to remain in all the gatherings. I am very attached to the freedom to demonstrate, and to the freedom of expression" # DefendonsLaLiberté # le79inter pic.twitter. com / iEugGShVgz
- France Inter (@franceinter) September 23, 2020
