Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) today condemn state security forces’ deliberate violence against journalists covering the International Workers’ Day protest in Paris on 1 May, including physical violence and arbitrary confiscation of protective masks. We call on the French authorities to rigorously enforce national safety protocols to protect media workers and end recurring police violence against the press during demonstrations.
Under the Ministry of Interior’s National Law Enforcement Plan (SNMO), state security must ensure journalists’ rights to cover law enforcement operations, protect them, and allow protective equipment. The recent incidents of violence, documented in multiple videos posted to social media, raise grave concerns about the increasingly dangerous environment in which journalists are operating while covering public demonstrations in France. National safety protocols for journalists have been openly ignored for years.
Among the eight incidents documented on 1 May, three journalists were reportedly assaulted by state security officers despite being identifiable as members of the press. Among them was a freelance journalist who was pushed and beaten, AB7 Média reporter Laurent Bigot, who was violently thrown to the ground and bludgeoned. Dyf news agency photojournalist Axel Gras suffered a mild concussion after being hit in the head. In June 2024, Gras was previously injured by another police officer during a demonstration.
In addition to police violence, five Spanish freelancers, Miquel Muñoz, Joan Gálvez, Adria Tur, Axel Miranda, and Marti Segura, reportedly had their protective masks arbitrarily confiscated. While contesting this decision, they were allegedly threatened with 24 hours of police custody and were ultimately unable to retrieve them after the demonstration. The cases documented on 1 May are not isolated occurrences.
In March 2025, journalist Clément Lanot was reporting from an anti-racism demonstration when he was struck in the head while wearing a helmet by a police officer, who was later cleared of any responsibility in the attack.
Since 2019, Mapping Media Freedom data indicates that journalists attacked by police during demonstrations in France are injured in most cases.
The MFRR consortium and RSF strongly urge independent and thorough investigations into the documented attacks and sanctions for the perpetrators. Ensuring justice for the attacks is paramount to send an unequivocal signal that violence and threats against journalists can no longer be tolerated, and to discourage further police violence.
We also call upon French state security forces to fully implement and rigorously enforce the National Law Enforcement Plan, which includes training for law enforcement officers on journalists’ rights. Police violence against journalists reporting from protests and demonstrations must stop immediately to protect the fundamental rights of access to information and press freedom.
