The remains of journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff will be repatriated to France on Wednesday, the BFMTV channel announced on Sunday evening June 5, during a program paying tribute to him. “Frédéric returns on Wednesday. A tribute will be paid to him on Friday, it will be Place de la République at 6:30 p.m.” in Paris, announced the chain in the presence of his colleagues of mission in Ukraine, the journalist Maxime Brandstaetter and the Ukrainian fixer Oksana Leuta. Both arrived in France on Friday evening and were with Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff when he was killed Monday in eastern Ukraine by shrapnel during a bombardment.
A tribute will be paid Friday in Paris to Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, at the call of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in particular. His family, friends and colleagues will be present. “Let’s be many to pay tribute to him, Place de la République in Paris, Friday June 10 at 6:30 p.m.”says RSF on Twitter.
Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, a 32-year-old journalist, was killed in Ukraine. He paid with his life for his quest for reliable, honest, independent, vital information for our democracies.
Let’s be many to pay tribute to him, place de la République in Paris, Friday June 10 at 6:30 p.m. pic.twitter.com/CWbzokrJC6— RSF (@RSF_inter) June 3, 2022
“We hesitate, but we say to ourselves that it is there that it happens, and that it is our job to go there”
Aged 32, Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff had worked for the non-stop news channel BFMTV for six years and was on his second assignment in Ukraine, as an image reporter (JRI).
During this special program, Maxime Brandstaetter and Oksana Leuta returned, with emotion, to the circumstances in which the journalist died, following a humanitarian convoy. “As usual, the authorities had warned us [que la route] was dangerous and they couldn’t ensure our safety there, but if you want, it’s the same everywhere in the Donbass”, said Maxime Brandstaetter. “With Frédéric, we used to constantly consult each other, to discuss everything. So yes, that day, we hesitate, but we say to ourselves that it is there that it happens, and that it is our job to go there.“
The French National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) announced on Monday the opening of a war crimes investigation after the reporter’s death.