On April 20, 2019, video journalists Gaspard Glanz and Alexis Kraland were arrested while covering “yellow vest” anti-government protests in Paris, according to media reports.
Glanz, a video reporter with Taranis News, a news website he founded, was arrested for allegedly insulting a police officer and participating in a violent group, French public broadcaster RFI reported.
In a video of his arrest published on YouTube by Hors-Zone Press, an online news organization that has frequently covered the yellow vest protests, Glanz is seen shouting at a police officer, saying that he had been affected by tear gas fired by police. Another officer is then seen shoving Glanz, who responded with an obscene gesture; a group of officers then pulled Glanz to the ground and arrested him.
Glanz remained in custody until April 22, when he appeared before a Paris court, which released him on the condition that he was barred from staying in Paris on every proceeding Saturday, the days when yellow vest protests are held, and on May 1, when large demonstrations are expected, until his contempt of authority trial on October 18, according to media reports.
In an interview with French news website Reporterre, Glanz said that he intends to continue covering the protests in Paris on Saturdays, “because I am a journalist and I work and I live in Paris.”
Kraland, a freelance video reporter, was also arrested during the April 20 protest, and was released by police later that day, RFI reported.
According to Kraland’s posts on Twitter and a report by French daily Le Monde, he was detained for eight hours after for allegedly participating in a violent group and for refusing to hand over his camera to the police, who claimed it was a weapon.
On April 21, French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner addressed Glanz and Kraland’s cases, saying, “if journalists are arrested–which can happen–they are obviously not [arrested] because they are journalists, but because of violations,” according to Le Monde.
CPJ emailed the Ministry of Interior for comment but did not receive a reply.
In December 2018, several journalists were injured by both police and demonstrators while covering yellow vest protests in France and Belgium, as CPJ reported at the time.