“I felt hurt”: Ruth Elkrief reacts to Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s attacks

Ruth Elkrief breaks the silence. In reaction to tense exchanges on Sunday December 3 on LCI between Ruth Elkrief and LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard, particularly on the situation in the Middle East, Jean-Luc Mélenchon attacked the journalist on his account (formerly Twitter): “Ruth Elkrief. Manipulative. If we don’t insult Muslims, this fanatic is indignant. What a shame!”, he wrote. Serious remarks worth Ruth Elkrief to be placed under police protection.

The main person concerned wanted to express herself Monday December 4 on LCI. Faced with David Pujadas, she explained that she did not intend to call into question her journalistic values ​​or her way of practicing her profession. “I first want to say that I did not wish for this controversy and that I regret it. It imposed itself on me. I first want to thank those who showed their support (…). What is at stake concerns us all: it is to defend the freedom of journalists who ask questions that displease. I’ve been doing this job for 40 years, I’ve always thought it was my duty to ask sensitive, difficult questions to everyone.“, she confided. She continued: “I was raised in Morocco and I was raised with respect for the cultural and religious knowledge of the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions. Only the Republic allows us to live in harmony. (…) It was as a female journalist that I felt hurt. It seemed to disqualify the practice of my profession which consists of asking questions and even when they are annoying. I believe in the vitality of democracy. We need debates and contradictions. I do this job with that in mind.”.

Gérald Darmanin places Ruth Elkrief under police protection

The state decided to protect it. Monday December 4, the minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin announced that it had placed the LCI journalist under police protection. “I decided this morning given the threats from Jean-Luc Mélenchon and others, since it is an outburst of hatred on the Internet, to provide police protection” to the editorialist, declared the Minister of the Interior on BFMTV. “It puts a target on the back of Ms. Elkrief who has already had many threats as a journalist“added the Minister of the Interior, who did not fail at the same time to point the finger “irresponsibility” of the leader of rebellious France.

Photo credits: LCI