As deafening gunshots ring out, two journalists dressed in blue bulletproof vests with the “Press” logo painfully drag a wounded colleague to safety. The young man groaned, with a bloody wound in his eye, but the worst was elsewhere: after examining him, the two journalists found that the bullets had pierced an artery and immediately applied a tourniquet.
We are not in Ukraine, but in Bayeux (Calvados), in Normandy, at a shooting range where young journalists follow a practical Manoir training workshop, organized by the France Médias Monde Academy (a group that supervises France 24, RFI and radio Monte Carlo Dualiya ). A dozen students get acquainted with journalism in dangerous areas during the Bayeux Calvados-Normandie Prize, the festival of war correspondents.
While Philémon, the “wounded” covered in fake blood, stands up unharmed, Fabrice Simon-Chautemps, responsible for first aid during the training, takes stock: “You didn’t fall into the trap, you had to treat the bleeding in front of the eye. On the other hand, the survival blanket should have been put on first: those with penetrating trauma should be covered. Hypothermia kills. »
Actions that save
Although for years war journalists learned at work, in the field, the reflexes they must have and the gestures that save, more and more are following training to reduce risks, not only in conflict zones, but also in dangerous areas. places like demonstrations or ZAD. There are other training courses, usually led by soldiers.
The Manoir was created in 2014 by France 24 journalist Matthieu Mabin, following the deaths of RFI journalists Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon in Mali in 2013. “It is a training really designed from the experience of journalists.explains Jean-Christophe Gérard, course director and security director of France Médias Monde. The idea is to give them tools without limiting them and increase their autonomy. » In each session, an experienced journalist comes to share their experience; this year, Eliott Brachet, a journalist long established in Sudan.
If media such as Arte, France Télévisions or the world Offering (or even imposing) this training on your employees and regular collaborators, for the self-employed, the cost (more than 4,000 euros) can be prohibitive. Every two years, during the Bayeux Prize, the camera manufacturer Nikon funds the training of a dozen freelancers, mostly photographers or videographers. In Bayeux, those selected are of different ages and origins, but the majority have had their first experience in difficult terrain.
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