The world of journalism is in mourning. This Monday, May 30, while accompanying civilians on board a humanitarian bus with one of his colleagues, Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff was killed in Ukraine. The 32-year-old – who had worked for BFMTV for six years – had been covering the conflict since the start of the Russian invasion.
Very quickly, Marc-Olivier Fogiel, general manager of BFMTV, confirmed the death of his collaborator live on the continuous news channel, revealing to have spoken with the mother of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff. “The first reaction (from his mother, on the phone, editor’s note) was to ask how Maxime and the fixer were doing. She knew what her son’s job was (…) with a form of pride“, he said. “Frédéric was not a hothead. He weighed every minute of his mission“, he also declared. During his death, Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff was accompanied by Patrick Sauce, a great reporter for BFMTV who was slightly injured, but also by Oksana Leuta, a Ukrainian fixer-translator who will to her well. The three members of the team “exchanged like every morning (to assess the risks, editor’s note): Oksana and Frédéric felt that the mission was secure enough to be able to go there. Maxime had more questions, as he could have had some the day before or the next day. But (…) that’s also what a reporting team is, they’re very close-knit people, they decided to go there“explained the boss of BFMTV.
Following the death of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff which created a great wave of excitement, Emmanuel Macron spoke on Twitter. “Journalist, Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff was in Ukraine to show the reality of the war. On board a humanitarian bus, alongside civilians forced to flee to escape Russian bombs, he was fatally shot. I share the pain of the family, relatives and colleagues of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, to whom I send my condolences. To those who carry out the difficult mission of informing in theaters of operations, I would like to reiterate France’s unconditional support“, wrote the French president.