Two journalists from France 3 Côte d'Azur, who were covering the aftermath of a dispute between the town hall and the Zavatta circus in Nice, which had been illegally occupying land since February 27, were jostled and threatened by police officers on Saturday March 4, denounced the editorial staff of the local branch and the SNJ (National Union of Journalists). Shortly after giving an interview to reporters, the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, walked to the circus tent with the police to enter. When the journalists wanted to follow him, "heated" exchanges between the Riviera media on the spot and certain representatives of the police took place, reports the editorial staff of the local branch of France 3 on the francetv.info site.
The article dedicated to the event explains that "the image reporter from the France 3 Côte d'Azur team, closer to the marquee, [was] grabbed and vigorously pushed back by two, then three national police officers". His colleague was "grabbed by the collar". "I'm going to break you in two," a law enforcement official told the journalist.
"Pending the follow-up that France 3 reserves to give to this slip, we can only remind you of the basic rights of the press to exercise its missions freely, serenely and in complete independence ", let the editorial staff know in a letter addressed to the prefectural services as well as to the central direction of Public Security.
In a statement published Monday, March 6, where it condemns these facts and supports his colleagues, the SNJ of France Télévisions asks the regional management of France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur "to take action at the height of this obstacle to the freedom to inform ".