The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Seine-Saint-Denis: a trader shows his support for Charlie Hebdo, he is threatened and insulted

2020-10-29T17:09:10.956Z


“ I try to act at my level to support freedom of expression. »Gérard *, 48, is a trader. He has been living in a town in Seine-Saint-Denis for a few months. At the beginning of September, when the trial of the Charlie Hebdo attacks began, he decided to post some of the satirical newspaper on the front of his store. Read also: Attack on a church in Nice: three dead and several wounded, the anti-te


I try to act at my level to support freedom of expression.

»Gérard *, 48, is a trader.

He has been living in a town in Seine-Saint-Denis for a few months.

At the beginning of September, when the trial of the

Charlie Hebdo

attacks

began, he decided to post some of the satirical newspaper on the front of his store.

Read also: Attack on a church in Nice: three dead and several wounded, the anti-terrorism prosecution seized

For him, it is a citizen act.

"

I would like more of us to mobilize to defend freedom of expression

", explains the trader.

Like many French people, I was very marked by the attacks of January 2015. It shocked me a lot

,” says this admirer of the designer Cabu.

Before continuing: “

With the trial, I said to myself: 'what can I do at my level to support the survivors?'.

So I decided to post some headlines every week for the time of the trial

”.

"It was quite violent"

“A

lot of people supported my initiative, sometimes stopping in front of the store with a thumbs up,

” Gérard continues.

But the trader has also been the target of worrying threats in recent weeks.

On September 8, Gérard is in his shop when he feels that "

someone is staring at him from outside

".

A man then enters the store insulting and threatening him.

"

Shut your mouth, you'll see asshole!"

", he said to him.

I tried to engage in discussion but he didn't calm down.

I didn't understand what he wanted,

”says Gérard.

The man then tears up the front page of

Charlie Hebdo

which was plastered on the window that day.

He crumpled it up and yelled, 'I'm going to put it in your ass.

It was quite violent.

I was in the store with my trainee, we were quite surprised

”, continues the merchant.

Gérard then begins to pay more attention.

It is indeed not uncommon for "

people to come in front of the store and take pictures

", giving rise to fears of spotting.

A new episode took place a few days later, on September 22.

An individual arrived in front of the store.

He had a very blank gaze.

I noticed that he was staring at the front page with the three caricatures, those of Edwy Plenel, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Tariq Ramadan,

”says Gérard.

The man finally returns 20 minutes later.

He then films the shop and at the same time seems to be in a telephone conversation, in Arabic, with another person.

The individual finally enters the shop, tears up the one he observed a few minutes before, before leaving.

A few days ago, Gérard also said that a man came to his shop to ask him if he had had any problems lately with his Charlie Hebdo front pages.

"

He asked me lots of questions and then he ended up telling me that he was a Salafist,

" explains the trader.

We talked about the cartoons.

He told me that Salafism was a return to fundamental values ​​but that it was not violent.

He seemed a bit lost and the discussion was a bit surreal,

”he continues.

A complaint filed

After the intimidation to which he was the object, Gérard initially did not wish to give up putting up some on his window.

“After

Samuel Paty's assassination

, I was totally stunned.

Some friends said to me, 'please take off your headlines,' ”he

explains.

Before continuing:

“In recent days, many customers have said to me: 'we support you, that's what you do'”.

The trader wanted to stick to what he had initially decided - to post the headlines until the end of the

Charlie Hebdo

trial

-

because he found that "

important as a trader but also as a citizen".

But he finally decided to withdraw them a little earlier than planned to

"calm things down"

in this troubled time.

The trial will end soon.

I've done my share of the job,

”says the merchant.

Before continuing: “

I also have a duty to protect my two employees

”.

Following the threats to which he was subjected, Gérard received a visit from a police commissioner.

The latter, deeming the matter sensitive, encouraged him to file a complaint.

What the trader did on Tuesday.

This complaint was confirmed in

Le Figaro

by a police source.

Contacted on several occasions

,

the town hall of the city where the merchant is installed did not respond to our requests.

* The first name has been changed to preserve anonymity.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-10-29

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.