French media protest journalist removals at Le Pen rally

French media organisations on Tuesday urged Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally to let journalists work freely after reporters were allegedly forcibly removed and mistreated at the party's two-day congress in Orleans last weekend.

In an open letter, outlets including BFMTV, LCI, Le Monde, Le Figaro, Radio France, RTL, RMC, France Televisions and AFP said it was unacceptable for journalists to be removed or mistreated at a major political campaign event. They said political parties must allow press access to their events without hindering journalists' work or using rough treatment.

The congress was held under heavy police surveillance as it coincided with nationwide protests over the cost of living. Thousands of people marched in Orleans on Saturday against the congress, shouting anti-fascist slogans.

At the venue on Saturday, a Mediapart video crew was confronted by National Rally activists, jeered by the crowd and then forcibly escorted out by party security staff. On Sunday, after a protest by the Union of Jewish Students in France, plainclothes police officers and security staff removed activists and a Mediapart journalist who was filming. A Politis journalist filming the same protest was also removed.

Several women reporters said security staff conducted unusual pat-downs of some women journalists to check whether they were wearing bras and might be Femen activists prepared to reveal slogans painted on their chests.

Earlier in October, journalist associations from nearly 40 outlets denounced what they called death threats by the National Rally against Mediapart after Le Pen suggested the outlet's journalists should wear a Kevlar suit. The party and its supporters have criticised Mediapart since its reporting on alleged antisemitic writings by party president Jordan Bardella when he was young. Bardella firmly denies being the author.