Moving tribute to journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, killed in the field

A gathering between silences, applause and vibrant tribute. Several hundred people responded to Reporters Without Borders’ call to honor the memory of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, a French journalist fatally injured by shrapnel in Ukraine at the end of May. His family, his colleagues from BFMTV, including reporter Maxime Brandstaetter who teamed up with him in Ukraine, his partner Sam Cottet were notably present, alongside Marc-Olivier Fogiel, CEO of BFMTV, and Christophe Deloire, Secretary General of RSF.

“Giving the floor to the most humble, to the invisible” was part of “the values ​​he was steeped in”, underlined Sylviane Imhoff, his mother, referring to previous reports with chambermaids in large hotels in particular. “Here is Mr. Poutine the beautiful person whom you killed”, she added, continuing to recall the course of her son. Frédéric was a “sweet and joyful person, so don’t be sad”, she nevertheless wanted to remember.

“We mourn a committed journalist”

“The editorial staff is in mourning. We mourn a committed journalist”, underlined for his part Marc-Olivier Fogiel, describing a professional anything but “hothead”. “He wanted to tell the world, we will continue to cover this conflict”. Late Wednesday morning, his colleagues at BFMTV observed a minute of silence in his memory. Aged 32, this tall, dark-haired man with soft features had worked for BFMTV for six years and was carrying out his second mission there in Ukraine, as a journalist and image reporter (JRI).

The rally was to end with a minute of applause. The body of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, killed on May 30 by shrapnel during a bombardment, was repatriated to France overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, in the presence of the Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak.