The international news agency AFP issued a strong condemnation on Friday regarding the treatment of its staff by law enforcement during ongoing demonstrations across France. The agency, which has been reporting on high-school student and cost-of-living protests for a global audience, is demanding that the status of journalists be respected during police operations.
While acknowledging the challenging environment in which law enforcement officers sometimes operate, AFP management emphasized that it is essential for the physical integrity of journalists to be protected. The agency stated that the ability of reporters to observe, photograph, and film protests and police interventions is a vital aspect of their role in providing information to the public, a function that must be guaranteed even during tense situations on the ground.
The agency’s call follows a series of violent incidents involving its reporters. On Thursday in Lyon, an AFP photographer wearing a press armband was injured during a police charge against a procession of demonstrators. The photographer suffered a fractured fibula after receiving five baton blows—three to his helmet and two to his lower leg. Earlier, on October 17 in Lille, a text journalist wearing a press-marked armband was struck in the thigh by a rubber-coated projectile. That same day in Paris, a video journalist was targeted by a water cannon while standing with other press members. Additionally, on October 18, a police officer struck a reporter on the shoulder and collarbone with a baton while simultaneously hitting protesters who had their hands raised.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) noted that the situation is part of a broader trend of obstruction. RSF reported 58 cases of journalists being prevented from covering protests, excluding the events of this past Thursday. Of those 58 cases, 40 were attributed to security forces, while 18 involved demonstrators or third parties. Furthermore, 35 of these incidents involved physical violence, with 21 cases explicitly perpetrated by security forces. AFP has called for every necessary precaution to be taken to ensure its journalists can safely carry out their professional mission.
