(JNi.media) A group of about 100 pro-Israel protesters threw eggs and other objects at the AFP building in Paris Thursday night, condemning the news agency for taking a pro-Arab stance in reporting the wave of terror in Israel, accosted BuzzFeed reporter David Perrotin who was standing nearby.
Perrotin has been reporting on the Ligue de Défense Juive (the French JDL). Last year, two JDL members were convicted of placing a bomb under the car of an anti-Israel journalist. One was jailed, the other reportedly fled to Israel. The LDJ’s official Twitter account called Perrotin a “pseudo journalist.”
The JDL crowd yelled out, “Islamic terrorists” at the AFP staff inside the building. They also cried, “AFP collabo,” a reference to the French collaborating with the Nazis during WW2.
“We are here to show our support for Israel in our war against the Arabs,” one demonstrator told the Guardian, adding, “Journalists working for organizations like AFP support the Islamic terrorists and that’s why we have to fight back.”
As the group came close to the AFP Building entrance, across the street from the Paris stock exchange, some 150 riot police intervened, using tear gas. Perrotin was covering the confrontation over Twitter, and wrote in one post: “A demonstrator told me, ’I warned the JDL that you’re here Mr Perrotin.’” Apparently, he had been approached by a woman who warned him that “it isn’t good to take photos” of the rally, and told him: “I know who you are, I have information about you. You are David Perrotin. Wait, I’ll tell the JDL that you’re here.”
It was reported that Perrotin was whisked into the building by police and that he is safe. Fellow reporter Pierre Haski has tweeted: “According to the latest news, he’s doing well.” Cecile Dehesdin, editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed France, tweeted in response to a Guardian inquiry: “Thank you for your messages, David Perrotin is safe.”
Agence France Presse (AFP) has been repeatedly accused of siding with the Arabs in reporting on events in Israel, often using Arab stringer reporters and photographers.