A man was taken into police custody on Monday March 1 as part of the investigation into the assault on Saturday of a photo-journalist from the daily
L'Union
in a sensitive district of Reims, where 80 CRS were to be deployed on Tuesday.
Read also: Are juvenile delinquents more numerous, younger and more violent?
"
An individual, major, was arrested this day at the end of the afternoon by the police services of the police station of Reims and placed in custody for attempted aggravated murder
", indicated in a press release the public prosecutor. in Reims, Matthieu Bourrette.
The investigation is open on counts of attempted aggravated murder and non-assistance to a person in danger, said the prosecutor.
Earlier in the day, the police launched a call for witnesses to try to shed light on the events that led this 65-year-old photographer, Christian Lantenois, to intensive care at the Reims University Hospital.
According to one of the chief editors of the regional newspaper, Sébastien Lacroix, his vital prognosis remained engaged.
Christian Lantenois was attacked while covering groups of young people in the priority district of the Red Cross.
Complaint for "
attempted murder
"
The photo-journalist, who spontaneously went to the scene to accompany a colleague, alerted to a possible brawl, had remained behind his colleague, in his car, flocked with the logo of the newspaper, according to the editorial staff.
He was found around 3:30 p.m. near the vehicle, on the sidelines of the crowds, "
on the ground
" and bleeding "
at the level of the ears
", according to the prefect of Marne Pierre N'Gahane.
To read also: Journalist attacked in Reims: the suburbs, “hostile terrain” with low noise for the media
The newspaper's management filed a complaint on Monday "
for attempted murder and infringement of press freedom
," said Sébastien Lacroix.
"
It seems clear that it was the journalist who was targeted: he was easily identified because he got out of a car bearing the name of the newspaper and carried a camera
," he said.
The prefect went to the scene of the attack on Monday morning, accompanied by the commissioner in charge of the investigation, noted an AFP photographer.
In the evening, the prefect announced the dispatch of 80 CRS to secure the neighborhood, from Tuesday and for at least the week.
After the assault, "
the young people quickly dispersed, there was no other incident
" and the neighborhood, of some 28,000 inhabitants, "
has been very quiet ever since
," he assured Sunday.
The attack on this journalist sparked indignant reactions to the top of the state, Emmanuel Macron expressing the wish that the perpetrators of the aggression be "
arrested as soon as possible
".
Sébastien Lacroix told AFP a "
huge influx of messages of support
" to the newspaper.
Sessions "
where everyone was able to express themselves
" were organized within the regional daily, some journalists expressing their concern at the violence against them, more often verbal than physical, "
which is increasing
", he said. reported.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/KMEYMJKESBAZBE4MRBAM4TGHIQ.jpg)
