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CRIME

Journalist attacked after tense Ajaccio v Marseille match

Prosecutors in southern France opened an investigation on Sunday after a journalist was attacked following a match between Ajaccio and Marseille, the second incident of violence at a French match in as many days.

Journalist attacked after tense Ajaccio v Marseille match
Marseille's supporters wave flags as they show their support for their team during the French L1 football match between AC Ajaccio and Olympique Marseille. Photo: Pascal POCHARD-CASABIANCA/AFP.

Ajaccio’s 1-0 win against their regional rivals on the island of Corsica was played in a tense atmosphere on Saturday.

After the game, a journalist from France 3 TV was attacked by Marseille supporters at a filling station near the stadium.

He was taken to hospital for treatment to “wounds on his face”, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

“Initial evidence points to serious acts of violence committed by a group of individuals who we are trying to identify,” Ajaccio’s chief prosecutor Nicolas Septe said.

He said the France 3 journalist was “quite seriously injured although there is no risk to his life”.

In a separate incident, a child suffering from cancer who was invited to meet the Marseille players was jostled along with his parents by Ajaccio supporters at the stadium, the Corsican club said, calling their behaviour “unspeakable”.

“The dream rapidly became a nightmare when Kenzo and his parents, who were wearing Marseille’s colours, were shamefully jostled by individuals who got into their box,” the club said.

“As soon as these individuals can be identified by our staff, we will bring prosecutions against them.”

The mayor of Ajaccio, Stephane Sbraggia, said the attacks on the journalist and the incidents surrounding the child “point to a worrying loss of values”.

It was the second incident of violence involving French football supporters in two days.

Four men were arrested in Bordeaux on Saturday after an assault on a player from their opponents Rodez led to a crucial match in the French second division promotion race being abandoned.

The match between hosts Bordeaux and Rodez on Friday was halted midway through the first half when a home fan approached the pitch and pushed over Rodez player Lucas Buades, who had just scored for the visiting team.

The match was halted and did not restart.

The source said the alleged aggressor was one of those taken into custody.

He was described as a 45-year-old man and a resident of the city of Annecy by local Bordeaux newspaper Sud Ouest.

Police allege that he invaded the pitch and “violently pushed” Buades, who was left concussed according to the referee.

The French league (LFP) will meet on Monday to discuss the incident which overshadowed the final night of the Ligue 2 season.

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CRIME

France to post scores of new gendarmerie units to rural areas

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced plans to create 238 new gendarmerie brigades and employ more than 2,100 gendarmes by 2027, in a bid to fight crime in suburban and rural France.

France to post scores of new gendarmerie units to rural areas

During a visit to Lot-et-Garonne on Monday, Macron presented a plan that he described as “historic” – to set up 238 new gendarmerie brigades between November 2023 and 2027. 

These brigades, which will be staffed through the recruitment of some 2,100 gendarmes, will be concentrated on the edge of cities and in rural areas. 93 will be ‘fixed’ – or based in permanent stations – with each staffed by a dozen or so gendarmes. The remaining 145 will be ‘mobile’, staffed by six gendarmes per station. 

There will be at least one new brigade in each département and overseas territory. 

Macron posted a map of where these gendarmes – who unlike the police are technically part of the army – would be deployed, online. The dark blue dots represent fixed brigades, while the light blue dots represent mobile ones. 

The French Presidency said that the location of each new brigade was decided based on “economic, demographic and operational criteria” – the latter referring to the number of offenses recorded in each area. 

The wider context  

In 2022, Macron’s government has promised to recruit an additional 8,500 law enforcement officers (gendarmes and police) by the end of his second term in office. These new gendarmerie brigades will only account for about a quarter of that. 

The government has also promised to double the number of law enforcement officers focused on policing the roads and public transport through to 2032; and to boost the budget of the Interior Ministry by €15 billion over five years. The government says this extra funding is necessary to deal with evolving crime risks and extra requirements engendered by the hosting of mass events like the Olympic games.  

Extra law-and-order spending comes at a moment of tense relations between the police and the public in France – particularly following the killing of teenager, Nahel M, at point blank range by a police officer in June. 

READ ALSO – Gendarmes to ‘policiers’ – who does what in the French police force?

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