The investigation is accelerating in Reims into the attack on Christian Lantenois, photo-journalist for the regional daily L'Union.
The police launched a call for witnesses Monday to try to determine the circumstances of this violent attack committed Saturday in a priority district of the city and whose perpetrators were not arrested.
“Saturday February 27 between 3 pm and 3.10 pm, a person was violently attacked rue Jean-Louis-Debar, near the Red Cross media library.
An investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of this attack, ”indicates this call for witnesses, according to the communication from the departmental security, confirming information from The Union.
Christian Lantenois, 65, was assaulted on Saturday afternoon while covering groups of young people in the Red Cross district.
Monday, he remained "in critical condition, but stable", in the intensive care unit of the University Hospital of Reims, according to his daily.
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Reims: what we know about the assault of a photo-journalist
In addition, the newspaper, represented by its deputy director general, Vanina Toulemonde, filed a complaint "for the facts of attempted murder" of which Christian Lantenois was a victim, Saturday, in front of the Red Cross media library.
A second complaint was filed for "infringement of press freedom" and for "destruction of private property", in this case the journalist's camera.
"Any witness having information likely to help the investigators is invited to contact the Reims police station", on 03 26 61 44 00, a number accessible 24 hours a day, continues the call.
The investigation, opened for attempted murder, "is still ongoing" and there was no arrest at this stage, we told departmental security.
Indignant reactions to the top of the state
The photo-journalist spontaneously went to the scene to accompany a colleague, alerted to a possible brawl, according to the newspaper's editor-in-chief.
He had stayed behind his colleague, in his car flocked with the newspaper's logo.
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.
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On Saturday, the prefect told the Parisian that the place of the assault was not equipped with video surveillance cameras, which could greatly complicate the judicial investigation.
The prefect went to the scene of the assault on Monday morning, accompanied by the commissioner in charge of the investigation.
This aggression sparked indignant reactions right up to the top of the state, Emmanuel Macron expressing the wish that its authors be "arrested as soon as possible".