At the start of the week, it was the weekly magazine “Le Standard” that was targeted by several hunting pellet impacts, seriously damaging its storefront. Meanwhile, the editor-in-chief and a journalist from Nice Matin were heard by the Prosecutor of the City of Nice, Eric de Montgolfier, regarding a photo published by the daily newspaper on February 15th, accompanying an article on arms trafficking on the French Riviera titled “Buying war weapons in Nice? It’s very easy.”
Although “Le Standard,” led by the former Chief of Staff of Jacques Peyrat, Jean-Marie Tarragoni, had returned to the Nice media scene only a few weeks ago, it finds itself in a situation as embarrassing as it is perilous. Admittedly, the Nice weekly is not very tender with the Nice municipality and tirelessly tracks various and recurring corruptions along a coast more worn than azure, but the mystery remains complete. Who would have an interest in peppering the newspaper’s storefront with pellets from presumably a hunting rifle? The investigation is ongoing, but it is unlikely that the police will be able to trace these duck hunters or their (sponsor(s)).
As for Nice-Matin, one must look to the court and its Prosecutor for the next steps in the case. Indeed, Eric de Montgolfier has launched investigations following an article by an investigative journalist from the Nice daily detailing an arms trafficking visible to all in Nice. The journalist and his Editor-in-Chief were heard for several hours by the Judicial Police, prompting a strong response from the President of Nice Matin, Michel Comboul, who asserts in his newspaper that “We (Nice Matin) believe that justice has clearly overstepped its rights.”
A tit-for-tat response was published the next day in which Eric de Montgolfier assures he was only doing his duty “in calling to account those who believed they could use a stratagem to support an article likely to alarm the public.” Michel Comboul immediately responded, proclaiming that his newspaper is “free to choose its topics, including discussing potential war arms trafficking in the region.” Is the local courthouse and daily newspaper at odds? It wouldn’t take much to think so, and the ongoing investigation will soon reveal the extent to which the used photograph was real or not.
The last stone in the local journalistic pond, the management of M6 has just decided to close its Nice agency, leaving 14 employees on the pebbles and a significant gap in its local programming. The reason for this decision: “not profitable enough.” Has M6, the small channel that could, finished scaling up?
And you, what do you think of the press and local media? What do you watch? What do you listen to? What do you read, apart from our site of course?
