Florent Guyotat, deputy editorial director of Franceinfo, is the guest of Radio France’s broadcast mediator, Emmanuelle Daviet.
We start with this question from a franceinfo listener, asked to Emmanuelle Daviet, the mediator of the Radio France antennas: “Faithful Franceinfo listener, I am surprised that some journalists use the term ‘main suspect’ to describe the author of the murder of the Arras professor, and other journalists say ‘presumed assassin’.
Emmanuelle Daviet: Why this semantic precaution on the part of certain journalists when the fact is proven?
Florent Guyotat, deputy editorial director of franceinfo: This is a valid comment from the listeners. We must understand that even if we are talking about extremely serious facts, which shock us all when the facts occur on Friday, October 13, late in the morning, the information that reaches us is initially fragmentary. This is why we strive, as always, even if we are in a special edition at this precise moment, to remain cautious. We know, at that moment, that a man has been arrested, that he is alive. But we have incomplete information on the course of the acts, and that is why we prefer at this precise moment to speak of ‘main suspect’.
Then, as the hours pass, the information reaching us becomes more precise and we then voluntarily use the term assassination. Assassination is a term that is not neutral. Obviously, that involves premeditated murder. A term which also appears during the press conference of the national anti-terrorism prosecutor, Jean-François Ricard, which we broadcast on Friday October 13, just before 8 p.m.
Jean-François Ricard, national anti-terrorism prosecutor: “Around 11 a.m. this morning, the man named Mohamed M., born in Russia in 2003, appeared in front of the Gambetta high school in Arras. He then hit a teacher, who was in front of this establishment, with a knife. The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office took charge of these acts, under the following qualifications: assassination in relation to a terrorist enterprise, then attempted assassination, in relation to a terrorist enterprise, and finally terrorist conspiracy, criminal.”
Emmanuelle Daviet: So, I am returning to this extract, since we have also received messages about the identity of these men. Here is an email from a listener:
“I am concerned about the quality of the information. While listening to franceinfo, I noticed that to talk about the individual who committed the assassination of the French teacher in Arras, your journalists gave his first name, and just after, the first letter of his last name. Why not give his full identity? Could you explain to me the reason for this editorial choice? I would like to understand how this contributes to informative media coverage.”
Florent Guyotat: Initially, it’s true, we only give the first letter, the initial of the last name. Here too, it is a precaution, a prudent measure. The franceinfo editorial team quickly learned the full family name, like other media outlets. But we know that there are investigations and arrests underway. We do not want to hinder the work of the police and justice, and that is why initially, we only give the initial. Then, again, as the hours pass, the full last name is given. It is a decision that we make with full knowledge of the facts.
We end with this question: How do you ensure the balance between the obligation to inform the public about terrorist acts, and the need not to contribute to the glorification of the perpetrators of these acts, we know that terrorism integrates a media dimension, that terrorists use the media as a sounding board for their actions? How do you proceed?
You are right to talk about balance. It’s really important to us. We must first discuss the terrorist’s journey. This is why we went to see, for example, a neighbor of the accommodation in which he lived, and who told us how this young man gradually became radicalized, and how he even mistreated his own mother.
Afterwards, you are right, there is no question at all of putting the terrorist and his victims on the same level. And this is why, last Thursday, we organized a special edition lasting almost two hours, dedicated to the funeral of Professor Dominique Bernard, really emphasizing the tributes paid to him. I chose an extract from the report by our special correspondent in Arras, Valentin Dunate.
Extract from the report by Valentin Dunate from Thursday October 19, 2023: “This ceremony was above all an opportunity to talk about this 57-year-old man, father of three children, with a striking, powerful and dignified moment. When his wife took the time to mention what Dominique Bernard loved. Literature, obviously, Julien Gracq, Balzac, Proust, Céline, poetry, René Char, Mallarmé, philosophy, cinema, Truffaut, Orson Welles, Pedro Almodovar. She described the landscapes of Tuscany, the scents of Provence and added this: He didn’t like computers and social networks. He didn’t even have a telephone. He didn’t like the sound and fury of the world. He deeply loved his daughters, his mother and his sister. We loved each other.”
Florent Guyotat: And here again, we try to find the right measure between, on the one hand, the need to talk about the journey of a terrorist to understand the radicalization process and on the other, obviously not putting the terrorist and his victims on the same level. This is why we have given a very large place to this tribute.