While journalists' unions and other NGOs continue to voice their fears about the consequences of the executive's plans for press freedom, the Paris prosecutor's office wants to make it known that it remains attentive to this principle, which is essential to any democracy. .
The call to the law decided against a journalist from France 3, arrested during a rally last Tuesday against the proposed law "comprehensive security" near the National Assembly, has been withdrawn.
This professional had been arrested while filming with his cell phone arrests at the end of the rally and that he had presented his press card.
At the end of his custody, he was sentenced to a reminder of the law.
Sentencing of the employer
The management of France Televisions had "condemned this restriction of press rights and the obstruction to the proper exercise of the right to inform" in a press release, specifying "to (reserve) the possibility of any useful action".
The management of France 3 Paris Île-de-France, where the journalist works, had itself condemned "with the greatest firmness this abusive and arbitrary arrest of a journalist in the exercise of his work".
After the arrest and custody, last night in Paris, of a journalist from the Network of France 3, the Management of France Télévisions condemns this restriction of press rights and the obstruction to the proper exercise of the right to 'inform.
- Francois Desnoyers (@ FrancoisDesnoy1) November 18, 2020
“We were in a special situation since it was a demonstration in which journalists participated.
The whole ambiguity was to know if the person concerned was there as a demonstrator or as a journalist ”, explained on RTL Monday morning the prosecutor Rémy Heitz, specifying that the journalist had not answered questions during his guard. on sight.
"I will now look at this procedure, remove this ambiguity and I am completely ready to withdraw the reminder to the law", he added, assuring that his "prosecutor's office (was) very attentive to the issue freedom of the press ”.
23 arrests on Saturday
The offense not being constituted, the case was closed without further action and will not appear on the criminal record processing file, specifies the prosecution.
Hundreds of people gathered last Tuesday near the National Assembly at the call in particular of journalists' unions and human rights associations to protest against the proposed "comprehensive security" law, which According to them, would prevent journalists and citizens from filming the police during the demonstrations.
Thirty-three people had been arrested during clashes with the police.
On Saturday, incidents erupted after the rally at the Trocadero which brought together several thousand people opposed to the bill.
Twenty-three people were arrested.