Tensions on La Croisette. On a video posted in the early afternoon this Saturday by a former journalist of Sud Ouest and CNews, we see a sharp altercation between Thierry Frémaux, general delegate of the Cannes Film Festival, and an agent of the municipal police, in front of the Hilton hotel. The first accuses the policeman of having "jostled" and "hit" him. He even announced his intention to file a complaint.
The sequence does not show the origin of the dispute but we understand that Thierry Frémaux was riding a bike and that he would have refused to stop at the request of the agent. The video begins with the police officer pushing away the General Delegate of the Cannes Film Festival. "Give me your name," he said. "I asked you to stop," the officer replies, rather calm. "I didn't do anything!" retorts Thierry Frémaux, visibly more upset. Towards the end of the sequence, which lasts a little over a minute, a man in a suit who tries, with others, to separate the two men, addresses Thierry Frémaux: "If I may, sir, you were at fault."
🔴 You were riding your bicycle on the sidewalk.
A police officer asked you twice to stop.
When he catches you in front of the Carlton you accuse him of assaulting you.
I repeat to you here, Thierry Frémaux, you were wrong and you are not above the law!... pic.twitter.com/JHKuHIjWGy
— Eric Morillot (@EricMorillot) May 20, 2023
A "non-subject" for the municipality
Contacted by Le Parisien, the municipality of Cannes believes that it is a "non-subject". She confirms that Thierry Frémaux was riding an electric bike "a little too quickly" on the sidewalk, then occupied by many pedestrians in the middle of the Festival, "and when the policeman asked him to stop, he continued. The police officer just did his job." "It's a scene like it happens every day, the video is the buzz because it involves Thierry Frémaux," she said. According to the City, "the tension went down as quickly as it rose", the two men "shook hands afterwards".
Five hours after its publication, the footage has indeed been viewed more than 500 thousand times. In particular, Matthieu Valet, police officer and spokesman for the Independent Union of Police Commissioners, reacted. "What contempt from the artistic director of the Cannes Film Festival to a municipal policeman who does his job. (...) For the police, no citizens more equal than others. »
What contempt of the artistic director of the festival of #Cannes in the face of a municipal #policier that does its job.
And if as a bonus you verbalize a celebrity, we have the right to: "go arrest the delinquents in the cities."
For the police, no citizens more equal than others! pic.twitter.com/1OgjyIkjDB
— Matthieu Valet (@mvalet_officiel) May 20, 2023