"Israel is deliberately trying to break the flow of information that we can get from Gaza," said Christophe, a retired journalist who came to demonstrate in Paris on Saturday, January 13, at the call of the Reporters Solidaires collective and several trade unions in the profession (SNJ, CGT, CFDT, FO...). Like him, Anne, José, Francis, Samia and Clément came to march with the same objective: to pay tribute to the more than 20,000 victims in Gaza as well as to their fellow journalists, killed while doing their job.
Since the beginning of the bombing of the Gaza Strip, between 95 and 117 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed by the Israeli army. "I have worked several times in Palestine, including Gaza. Every day, I wake up afraid of receiving bad news from my colleagues," says photojournalist Anne, who deplores the fact that no journalist is allowed by Israel to enter the enclave to report the events. "If Gaza opens tomorrow, I'll try to get there."
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With a fluorescent "Presse" armband on his arm and a helmet in his hand, José confirms his colleague's words: "It's not normal for a state to prevent the press from going there. We also need to tell our government to push for our work and accountability for what is going on. Then, it is up to us journalists to take that risk or not. »
Francis said it was "the first time" he had demonstrated for journalists from Paris and saw the war as "a deliberate targeting" of his colleagues on the ground, as well as their families. Christophe adds: "This is not the first time that journalists have died in the line of duty. But what is unprecedented is that it is the army of a state that is targeting them."