
16
Dec 2019
Lvl. 2
Resolved
Alert created on: 05 Aug 2019
n° 90/2019
France
Journalists Banned from Covering the Evacuation of Amazon France's Headquarters
Source of threatState
CategoryOther acts having chilling effects on media freedom
On 2 July 2019 at around 5 p.m., around ten journalists, including Rémy Buisine (Brut), Matthieu Jublin (LCI), and Alfred de Montesquiou (freelancer), were expelled from Amazon France's offices in Clichy by the Gendarmerie, along with the environmental activists who occupied the premises. Without explanation, the gendarmes escorted the journalists to the Clichy-City Hall metro station. Subsequently, law enforcement prevented journalists from approaching Amazon's offices, while many people were walking by and many vehicles were driving on the street without being stopped or even checked.
The Paris Prefecture de police explained that the civil authority in charge of the law enforcement system had set up an exclusion zone to ensure performance of the various law enforcement missions required. The Prefecture did not explain why the exclusion measure had been applied only to journalists. Journalists denounced the arbitrary and discriminatory nature of the intervention.
The Paris Prefecture de police explained that the civil authority in charge of the law enforcement system had set up an exclusion zone to ensure performance of the various law enforcement missions required. The Prefecture did not explain why the exclusion measure had been applied only to journalists. Journalists denounced the arbitrary and discriminatory nature of the intervention.
Resolved
16 Dec 2019:
On 16 December 2019, given that no complaint was filed by the journalists or their employers, the partner organisations to the Platform declared this case to be “resolved”, concluding it was no longer an active threat to media freedom.
Additional Information
- Article published by the daily "Libération": "Les gendarmes ont-ils empêché des journalistes de couvrir l'évacuation des locaux d'Amazon?"
- Article published by the weekly "L'Express": "Des journalistes chassés d'une manif et escortés de force par des gendarmes"
- Live video shot by journalist Remy Buisine (Brut)
- Article published on LCI's website : "Blocage du siège d'Amazon : les militants écologistes évacués, les journalistes tenus à l'écart"
State replies
Reply from the French authorities (in French)
Freelancers