Journalists attacked amid unrest near Place de la République in Paris
Usagevpn.com – A reporting team was attacked in Paris on Saturday while covering large demonstrations involving the Yellow Vests movement and student-led groups, as violence and looting broke out near Place de la République.
The incident unfolded after the crew left the main protest area and headed toward another location. Near Boulevard de Magenta, close to the Intermarché Express supermarket at 14 Place Jacques Bonsergent, they encountered masked people looting the shop.
Estelle Nilsson-Julien, Euronews’ Paris correspondent, said the situation escalated when the group noticed the crew filming. The attackers surrounded the journalists, struck the cameraman and attempted to seize his equipment.
“We were standing on Boulevard de Magenta, not far from a supermarket that was being looted by young people, young adults, teenagers. When they saw we were filming, they started hitting my cameraman and attempted to take his microphone and they encircled us,”
Nilsson-Julien said the cameraman was pushed against a wall and repeatedly assaulted. She was also hit during the confrontation. Although he was punched in the face, she said his protective goggles and mask prevented him from being injured.
“They then pushed him against the wall and started hitting and punching him. They also hit me. They punched him in the face, but because he was wearing goggles and a mask, he was not harmed,”
Camera recovered, but footage lost
During the scuffle, the group took the team’s camera. It was later returned by several young people who had witnessed what was happening. However, the SD card had been removed, meaning the recordings made by the crew were no longer available.
The loss of footage underlines one of the practical dangers journalists face when covering fast-moving demonstrations. Cameras, microphones and protective equipment are essential tools for documenting events, but they can also make reporters visible targets when crowds become hostile to media workers.
Nilsson-Julien described a tense scene around the supermarket, with fires visible nearby and police sirens sounding across the area. What had begun earlier in the day as calmer demonstrations had, in that part of Paris, shifted into disorder.
“It is to be honest anarchy in the streets. There are many young people who seem like they are ready for a fight and looting going on. So, the calm protests of earlier today, at least in this area, are completely over,”
Separate incident at the main protest gathering
A second incident involving a Euronews journalist occurred at Place de la République, where another correspondent, Valerie Gauriat, was covering the protests. While she was interviewing a demonstrator, a masked person passed behind her, slapped the back of her head and muttered profanity.
The individual objected to the presence of the media at the demonstrations. The confrontation reflected a broader atmosphere of hostility toward journalists during parts of the protest, particularly after calls circulated on social media urging demonstrators to target media organisations and reporters.
Those online messages claimed that such action was necessary to stop what they described as misinformation about the protests and violence linked to them. The attacks in Paris showed how that rhetoric can place reporters in immediate physical danger while they attempt to document public events.
Protests turn volatile in parts of the capital
Place de la République has long been a prominent gathering point for political demonstrations in Paris. On Saturday, the area drew protesters connected to the Yellow Vests movement as well as student-led groups. While demonstrations can bring together people with different demands and backgrounds, large crowds also create difficult conditions for emergency services, nearby businesses, residents and journalists.
The reported looting near Place Jacques Bonsergent marked a sharp contrast with the earlier, more peaceful phase of the day. Once violence spreads beyond the central protest site, the situation can become harder to follow and more dangerous for people moving through nearby streets.
For journalists, covering such events requires working in close proximity to both protesters and police activity while maintaining enough distance to report safely. The attacks on the two correspondents highlight the risks that emerge when news crews are treated as participants in a confrontation rather than observers documenting it.
The assault near Boulevard de Magenta also deprived the public of images recorded during a significant moment of unrest. Although the camera itself was returned, the missing SD card meant the material captured before and during the incident could not be recovered through the equipment that was handed back.
As the demonstrations continued, the contrast between peaceful protest and street violence remained central to the day’s events. The incidents involving the reporting teams illustrated how quickly conditions around a major gathering can deteriorate, particularly when looting, fires and confrontations replace the earlier atmosphere of public demonstration.
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