'Paris Match' faces ban over Nice attack images
July 13, 2017
A last-minute injunction was launched on Wednesday evening by Paris prosecutor Francois Molins to try and prevent the latest edition of the magazine Paris Match from hitting the news stands, Europe 1 radio reported.
The weekly news magazine, whose latest edition is published on Thursday, has vowed to publish screenshots of video surveillance from last July's Nice attack that left 86 people dead and more than 450 wounded.
Europe 1 said Paris Match would print a double-page spread of the 19-ton truck during its rampage on the Promenade des Anglais in the southern French city on July 14, 2016.
Magazine defends decision
Paris Match said the victims' families had a right to information about what exactly happened one year ago on Friday.
The magazine said the shots used were taken at a distance and do not identify the victims or impair their dignity.
Read more: Madrid to Manchester to London: A chronology of terror in Europe
UK PM Theresa May vows to fight 'all forms of terrorism' in wake of London attack
The magazine has faced legal action and censure several times before over the publication of private and sensitive images and interviews, including what it claimed was the last interview with Princess Diana before she was killed in a 1997 car crash in the French capital.
Previous dispute
The Nice footage was the subject of a previous controversy after police called on city authorities to delete the video surveillance to avoid the "uncontrolled sharing" of images. Officials refused, arguing that the footage was part of vital evidence in the investigation.
News of the latest publication led to anger from victims' groups, who accused the magazine of trying to "offend the dignity of the victims and their relatives."
Eric Lawyer, a lawyer for the association of victims, FENVAC, said the publication was "illegal" and was only proceeding with the scoop "to be sensationalist."
FENVAC's general secretary Stéphane Gicquel called for readers to boycott this week's edition.
The Mayor of Nice also denounced Paris Match's decision and said he had written to France's justice minister.
Read more: Jihadi arrests in EU nearly double in 2 years: Europol
Muslim imams march against terrorism in Europe
The Nice attack was carried out at the end of a late night fireworks display on Bastille Day - France's National Day - by Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a Tunisian resident of France, who was later shot and killed by police.
Lahouaiej-Bouhlel rammed the truck at high speed into crowds of revelers, leaving carnage in his wake.
The self-proclaimed "Islamic State" group claimed responsibility for the atrocity.
mm/gsw (AFP, Europe 1)