Two journalists were wounded in Toulouse during the act of mobilising yellow vests. One of them works for Actu Toulouse, he tells.
Two journalists were wounded during the act 23 yellow vests that took place on Saturday 20th April, 2019 in Toulouse . One of them, Frédéric Scheiber, is a journalist for Actu Toulouse .
Read also: Report of act 23 yellow vests: thousands of protesters, overflows, wounded
At the place Dupuy
Frédéric Scheiber was first hit by a disengagement grenade in the sector of Place Dupuy.
I note two impacts , knee and groin. The medical streets quickly treated me on the spot.
#Acte23 #GiletsJaunes #Toulouse : notre journaliste couvrant la manif pour @actutoulouse a été blessé au genou par une grenade de désencerclement puis délibérément visé par les gaz lacrymo des forces de l’ordre. Il poursuit malgré tout son travail au service de l’info. Soutien ! pic.twitter.com/fGt5fuF92X
— Pascal Pallas (@pallaspascal) April 20, 2019
“I can not believe we were intentionally targeted”
The same projectile hit another journalist with a calf and back injury . Kévin Figuier, a journalist with France 3 Occitanie, said that the grenade was thrown in a bell, while these projectiles must be thrown to the ground.
Touché par une grenade de désencerclement envoyée en cloche. Quand j’ai vu la grenade dans les airs, je me suis tourné. Deux impacts, l’un avec une plaie au mollet droit et une trace au dos. Aucune idée si c’était intentionnel ou non. #Toulouse #GiletsJaunes
— Kevin Figuier (@Keu20Figuier) April 20, 2019
Frédéric Scheiber states:
“I did not see the launch for myself and I do not want to believe that we were intentionally targeted. On the other hand, with regard to injuries, it is likely that this grenade was not thrown to the ground as it should have been.”
Read also: “Suicidez-vous”: indignation after this slogan launched by yellow vests to police officers
“There was no imminent danger”
A few minutes later, our journalist was deliberately gassed by the tear gas bomb of a police officer near Riquet Street. Frédéric Scheiber was filming at that time and his images, broadcast live on the Facebook page of Actu Toulouse testify.
“We were a small group of journalists near a police squad. There was no imminent danger. One of the members of this squad, armed with an LBD, was firing nervously, in a non-regulatory position . The officer tried to stop him, did not succeed. I think he was afraid we were capturing the images of this behavior and so wanted to move us away. “
Never had a problem with law enforcement before
Frédéric Scheiber continues:
“My glasses protected me from the gas at the moment but when I wanted to remove my equipment, a few tens of seconds later, I felt a great pain in the eyes and I was plunged into darkness . A colleague journalist led me to the team of street medics.”
Present on the ground for several Saturdays, identified as a journalist, Frédéric Scheiber assures that he had never encountered any problem with the police until now.
A police union reacts
Sébastien Pelissier, deputy departmental secretary of the Haute-Garonne for the Alliance Nationale police union explains that “there have been many summonses of dispersions that are addressed to all. Systematically protesters and breakers have not complied, the use of tear gas has the effect of dispersing the crowd for a return to public order.
The unionist says:
“We can only regret that journalists are injured but it may be necessary to overhaul their movements on the demonstrations because being between the police, protesters and breakers is sometimes physically harmful.”
Soon an appointment with the police fonts
In recent days, the IGPN, that is to say the police of the police , made contact with Actu Toulouse to hear Frédéric Scheiber, as a witness concerning facts occurred during the act 13 of the movement of the yellow vests, last February 9th. He then filmed an exchange of fire on which the investigators want more details.
Our journalist will take advantage of this meeting to discuss what happened to him on Saturday, April 20, 2019.
