“Will to lynch”, broken and stolen camera… A BFMTV team violently attacked on the sidelines of the demonstration in Lyon

A BFMTV team was violently attacked by demonstrators on the sidelines of the Lyon procession on Saturday afternoon during act V of the social movement, requiring the intervention of the police to “protect” them, indicates the Rhône prefecture.

The television team consisted of two journalists and two security guards. Demonstrators “threw themselves on them”, it was “very violent, with a desire for lynching”, triggering “an offensive leap by the CRS to protect them”, the prefecture explained to AFP.

“It was very, very strong, one of them took several blows. His camera was thrown on the ground, broken and then they took it back and stole it. And he was in shock,” an independent freelancer who witnessed the scene told AFP.

“I had to remove my press badge myself, otherwise I would have been lynched too,” added this witness who publishes videos under the name “Medave Prod” on social networks and says he received “two stones in the foot”.

Violence condemned by the prefect

In a tweet, prefect Étienne Guyot “condemns with the greatest firmness the attacks committed today against journalists during the demonstration”, recalling that “press freedom and the right to inform are fundamental pillars of our democracy”.

The Lyon demonstration bringing together several causes - march for the climate, for the rights of children and youth - brought together 8,000 people according to the authorities.

If the atmosphere was good-natured in the vast majority of the procession, tensions quickly appeared at its head, with mortars fired by demonstrators and tear gas grenades fired by the police. A barricade was also set up and then set on fire shortly before the attack on the journalists.