France: Far-right Jewish extremists attack Buzzfeed journalist

A prominent Buzzfeed News reporter was attacked by far-right Jewish extremists in Paris on 22 October. The assault took place as members from the Jewish Defence League (JDL) gathered outside the offices of Agence France Presse (AFP) to protest the national news wire's coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Some of the 100 people at the protest threw eggs and other objects at the AFP building, shouted insults and tried to storm the offices, forcing riot police to spray them with tear gas. The extremists screamed threats at journalists, including "we're coming to get you" and "Islamic terrorists".

David Perrotin was approached by a woman who warned him that "it isn't good to take photos" of the demonstration and asked if he was a journalist. Perrotin didn't answer out of concern for his wellbeing, and the woman responded: "I know who you are, I have information about you. You are David Perrotin. Wait, I'll tell the JDL that you're here."

Perrotin, who was covering the protests on Twitter, sought to leave the crowd and headed towards the police line in front of the AFP building, but he was set upon by a gang of about a dozen masked demonstrators. He received blows to the back and head with a helmet. After recognising him as a journalist, police let him enter the office, where he given refuge by staff until being escorted out by police around 45 minutes later.

One attendee said: "We are here to show our support for Israel in our war against the Arabs." He added: "Journalists working for organisations like AFP support the Islamic terrorists and that's why we have to fight back."

The JDL is banned in both the US - with the FBI labelling the group a "violent extremist organisation" in 2001 - and Israel. France has also considered outlawing the group. Last year, two members of the group placed a bomb under the car of an anti-Zionist journalist, and both received prison sentences after being found guilty. One escaped to Israel.

Buzzfeed France's editor-in-chief, Cecile Dehesdin tweeted: "Thank you for your messages, David Perrotin is safe", and this was confirmed by the journalist himself.