The editorial treatment on franceinfo of the death of Nahel in Nanterre

Since the death of Nahel, killed during a police check in Nanterre, on June 27, followed by four nights of violence throughout the territory, the mediator of the antennas of Radio France, Emmanuelle Daviet, has received many messages from listeners. The deputy editorial director of franceinfo, Florent Guyotat answers him.

Emmanuelle Daviet: These listeners would like to know how the journalists proceed from the start of the case to offer balanced treatment?

Florent Guyotat: Obviously, the most important thing for us is that we give voice to all stakeholders. On one side, of course, the defense of the policeman, and on the other, the family of the young man. When the police officer was remanded in custody on Thursday June 29, we immediately sought to contact his lawyer, Laurent-Franck Liénard. And Thursday evening, he spoke on franceinfo, to explain to us that it had been the reaction of his client, during his police custody.

Me Laurent-Franck Liénard: “My client, when he saw this image in police custody, he was the first to be shocked. For what ? But because we see a policeman who kills a citizen. And it is extremely shocking. There is nothing more shocking. Obviously we are all shocked by this image. But afterwards, you have to get out of the picture. You have to wonder if the shot is legitimate or if it is not. His colleague is in danger, because he himself is in danger. And if you watch the videos in danger…”

Edouard Marguier: In danger because the colleague was inside the cockpit, is that why he felt threatened, him and his patrol after all?

Laurent-Franck Lienard: “Exactly. He was inside the cabin, and therefore he risked being dragged or crushed against the low wall. I remind you that there is a low wall 40 centimeters away. had to stop this vehicle and there, the only way to stop the vehicles, alas, the only way, is to apply fire on the driver.

Florent Guyotat: Here is the word given to the defense of the policeman Thursday evening on franceInfo, at the microphone of Edouard Marguier, in the 9 p.m. / midnight of our antenna. And then of course, we also gave the floor to the young man’s family. Jennifer Cambla, Nahel’s mother’s lawyer, also spoke. It was Wednesday morning June 28, on franceInfo.

Me Jennifer Cambla : “What we can see when we see the images is that it is a gesture which is absolutely illegitimate, and which absolutely does not fit into a framework of self-defense. We can clearly see that the policeman was on the side of the vehicle, and that the vehicle was stationary elsewhere, and that when it restarts, that’s where he shoots Nahel in the chest. Feeling threatened is not in fact enough to justify the shooting with a bullet to the chest.

According to the prefecture, they were able to indicate that there had been traffic offenses that had been committed by Nahel at the wheel of the vehicle. The fact remains that these are still tickets, and that this does not justify the gesture that was made by the policeman, and the fact of having shot him in cold blood, a few minutes later.

Emmanuelle Daviet: Florent Guyotat, in the editorial coverage, another aspect underlined by the listeners is the emotional dimension in the media’s treatment of this extremely sensitive affair. Some believe that we should not give so much room to emotion, but rather let justice do its job, in an impartial manner. What were your thoughts on this subject during the editorial conferences?

Florent Guyotat: There is emotion and journalistically, we have to report it because it is a reality. This is what we did on Thursday June 29, by going to Nanterre with two reporters, Valentin Dunate and Boris Loumagne, to cover the white march in memory of Nahel. But we also try to go beyond this emotion. This is a constant concern with us on the franceinfo antenna, giving listeners keys to form an opinion. As always we have many sequences with our cell true from falsesequences called Explain to us, where we try to give keys to understanding essential concepts.

We tried to explain to the listeners, as clearly as possible, what refusal to comply was, a concept that we talk a lot about. For greater clarity, the use of firearms as well. What is allowed? What is not allowed in the law, and how the law has evolved since it was last amended in 2017. And then, in this case, everyone is of course referring to the riots of 2005. Again, we reminded listeners what those riots were, and what happened at the time, with archival material.

Listeners regret that the difficulty of the police profession is not sufficiently addressed. They point out that this case highlights the complex working conditions that police officers face on a daily basis. And they believe that it would be important to open the debate on this question. What do you think ?

Here again there is a constant need for balance. We gave, as I told you, the floor to the family of the young man, and to all the people who were moved by the death of this young man. But the difficulties of the police profession are also constant testimonies on our antenna. We gave the floor to police officers, whether unionized or anonymous, and who tell us, again this weekend, the difficulty of ensuring the maintenance of order in this very particular context.

In such a tense context, how does the editorial staff ensure that it disseminates reliable and factual information?

You know, within franceinfo, we have an internal agency. It is a group of journalists, which is specifically responsible for verifying the various information that comes to us, notably from our contacts, from press releases, and also from, of course, social networks. So we are very careful. We only give information when it is validated by several sources.

And then, we are also very concerned about everything that can be seen on social networks, especially videos, which are being talked about a lot at the moment. The video where we see the scene of what happened in Nanterre, with the shooting of the policeman, and the death of the young man. It happened to us, but we didn’t broadcast it right away, on our website, nor did we talk about it right away on the air. We sought to authenticate it, on the basis of credible sources, and we preferred to wait, to provide the most verified information possible.