Journalist Ophélie Meunier placed under police protection after reporting on Islamism in Roubaix.
The controversy surrounding a report by “Zone Interdite” from the M6 channel on Islamism in Roubaix takes a new turn: the presenter Ophélie Meunier and a young Roubaisien, threatened, were placed under police protection, a few days before the trial of the mayor on the facts denounced in the program.
The journalists’ societies (SDJ) of the M6 television news, RTL radio and the BFM TV channel expressed their support on Monday for the host of the program “Zone Interdite” Ophélie Meunier, placed under police protection after having received threats following a reporting on Islamism.
“We, SDJ of M6 JT and SDJ of RTL give our full support to the entire team of + Zone Interdite + and in particular to Ophélie Meunier, as well as to all the speakers who have agreed to testify”, wrote the SDJ of M6 on his Twitter account. “It is unacceptable to attack anyone in this way.
Nothing justifies threats or violence, and information and freedom of the press must remain a priority if we want to preserve our democracy”, has she added.
A young man from Roubaix and witness in the report, Amine Elbahi, was also placed under police protection after receiving threats.
The broadcast on January 23 of the report, partly devoted to Islamism in the city of Roubaix, had provoked a lively controversy, causing even the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin to react in the National Assembly.
“The journalists and the people who testified in this report have been supported, their complaints have been investigated. I have given extremely important means so that the authors of these threats are found,” he said again on Monday. occasion of a trip to Marseille, recalling that police protection had been “decided”.
“We encourage the profession of journalist. We say that, whatever the opinions we may have on this or that report, in France, we can broadcast what we want and above all that all means must be used to find the perpetrators who, I hope, will be strongly condemned by justice”, added Mr. Darmanin.
Asked by AFP, M6 indicated that she preferred “to make no comment”. “We must be unanimously united because a death threat against journalists is unbearable, it is unacceptable”, hammered Monday the lawyer of Charlie Hebdo and the young Mila, Richard Malka, at the microphone of RTL . “As for Mila, as for Charlie, you don’t have to get used to it. Fear has to change sides, you need unanimity from the whole profession. If you don’t defend yourself, who will? “.