Europe 1 with AFP 12:47 p.m., December 04, 2023

Gérald Darmanin announced on Monday that he had placed under police protection LCI journalist Ruth Elkrief, accused on Sunday by Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the social network X (formerly Twitter) of being a "fanatic" and of despising Muslims. "He puts a target on the back of Ruth Elkrief who has already had a lot of threats as a journalist," he said.

Gérald Darmanin announced on Monday that he had placed under police protection LCI journalist Ruth Elkrief, accused on Sunday by Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the social network X (formerly Twitter) of being a "fanatic" and of despising Muslims. "I decided this morning, in view of the threats of Jean-Luc Mélenchon and others, since it is an outburst of hatred on the Internet, to hand over police protection" to the editorialist, the interior minister said on BFMTV.

Gérald Darmanin points to Jean-Luc Mélenchon's "irresponsibility"

"He puts a target in the back of Ruth Elkrief who has already had many threats as a journalist," added Gérald Darmanin, pointing to the "irresponsibility" of the leader of France Insoumise. Government spokesman Olivier Véran on Monday described Jean-Luc Mélenchon's statement as a "despicable attack". "Calling Ruth Elkrief a fanatic is extremely serious," Véran told RTL radio. In reaction to tense exchanges on Sunday on LCI between Ruth Elkrief and LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard, notably on the situation in the Middle East, Jean-Luc Mélenchon attacked the journalist: "Ruth Elkrief. Manipulative. If Muslims are not insulted, this fanatic will be outraged," he wrote.

"What a shame! Congratulations Manuel Bompard for the reply. Elkrief reduces the whole of political life to his contempt for Muslims," he continued. Asked about the accusations of anti-Semitism made against Jean-Luc Mélenchon after these messages, Gérald Darmanin said that "it is above all a journalist who is being attacked". "Jean-Luc Mélenchon is not the greatest defender of the Jews that I know," he added.

The TF1 group steps up to the plate

"Jean-Luc Mélenchon tells you that the bosses are bastards, that the police kill and that now the journalists are fanatics. At some point, we have to ask ourselves the question of Jean-Luc Mélenchon's place in the public debate," Véran said. "It is unacceptable that in France a journalist is subjected to pressure and insults and that she cannot fulfill her mission of information in safety," said Senate President Gérard Larcher. "How far will Jean-Luc Mélenchon go in his provocations?"

"The TF1 group strongly supports Ruth Elkrief and deeply deplores the odious invective and inappropriate insinuations to which she is subjected," the audiovisual group, parent company of the LCI news channel, wrote on X.