James Longman is presently reporting for the BBC on the Paris riots.
It was his online report that featured in the update to our post about the BBC's Paris coverage yesterday - a piece I described as being "entirely from the side of 'the aggrieved'".
Given that the BBC elsewhere have been very careful to call it an "alleged attack", that is a very bold statement.
It's not a 'one off' either. Another tweet reads:
Even James himself in his BBC report uses the word "alleged".
A TV version of the report of his went out in the early hours of yesterday morning (before BBC Breakfast). Here's a transcript of it (minus the contributions of others):
A TV version of the report of his went out in the early hours of yesterday morning (before BBC Breakfast). Here's a transcript of it (minus the contributions of others):
Newsreader: The sister of the young man who was allegedly sexually assaulted by French police, has spoken to the BBC about her brother's attack and has said that there will be further violence unless justice is seen to be done. James Longman reports.
James Longman: Youth sits idle in Paris's suburbs. This is the life they have been dealt. This is Aulnay-Sous-Bois - a district about half an hour north of Paris, and we're in the estate where 22-year-old Theo was allegedly brutalised by police. It caused massive protests, both here and across Paris, and there is real worry is that the protests will continue to intensify....Theo's Sister Eleanor shows me the graffiti's wall when he was attacked....Protests following the attack are a reminder of the chaos of 2005. France's cycle of violence. Youth versus police, black versus white, haves versus have-not's, seems to spin and spin and Theo's ordeal is part of that bigger picture...And 'shutting down' is just what President Hollande wants to do...Respect. It's earned in this place, like here at a football match in solidarity with Theo. But the opposing sides in France's struggle with race were decided long ago and it's far from over.
