‘The Baku Connection': FRANCE 24 and RFI among winners of European Press Prize award
'The Baku Connection', a sprawling investigation of abuse and impunity in President Ilham Aliyev's Azerbaijan, picked up the Special Award at the annual European Press Press awards ceremony in Bari on Wednesday.
Coordinated by Forbidden Stories, the investigation involved 40 journalists from 15 media outlets including FRANCE 24 and RFI. It pursued the work of reporters from Azerbaijan's Abzas Media, who have been in jail since November 2023.
Journalists involved included Karina Chabour and Roméo Langlois for FRANCE 24's investigation bureau, Corentin Bainier and Ershad Alijani of the FRANCE 24 Observers, Sébastian Seibt from FRANCE 24's digital newsroom, and RFI's Daniel Vallot.
Since its launch in 2017, Forbidden Stories has brought together more than 150 journalists from 60 media outlets, investigating drug cartels, cybersurveillance and environmental damage by the mining industry, among other subjects.
Its mission is to continue the work of fellow journalists around the world who have been jailed, murdered or otherwise silenced, thereby ensuring their investigations are pursued and published.
The European Press Prize has been awarded annually since 2021, in five different categories. Its aim is to promote high-quality European journalism and to support journalists who face obstacles, threats and attempts to silence them.
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France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
European champions PSG land back in Paris ahead of victory parade
Coach Luis Enrique and his team including Desire Doue, the 19-year-old who lit up the final in Munich on Saturday by scoring twice in the stunning 5-0 win against Inter Milan, will also be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. More than 100,000 people are expected to watch their heroes in the parade on Paris' showpiece avenue after the team won the biggest prize in European club football for the first time in their history. An estimed 11.8 million viewers watched the game on French television which sparked a long night of wild celebrations. Fans thronged the streets of the capital, letting off flares and fireworks as decades of pent-up frustration were released. Police made nearly 600 arrests across France, the interior ministry said, after more than 200 cars were torched and police clashed with youths. In the southwest town of Dax, a 17-year-old boy died after being stabbed in the chest. A 23-year-old man riding a scooter in central Paris was also killed after being hit by a vehicle. A policeman was put in an induced coma after being injured by a firework. PSG condemned the violence "in the strongest possible terms" on social media on Sunday, adding that winning the title "should be a moment of collective joy, not of unrest and disorder". "These isolated acts are contrary to the club's values and in no way represent the vast majority of our supporters, whose exemplary behaviour throughout the season deserves to be commended," they said. The club called on the public "to show responsibility and respect" during the parade on the Champs-Elysees, which will be closed to traffic and surrounded by tight security, and the party at home ground Parc des Princes which will close the celebrations. A victory parade by Liverpool Football Club's players in the English city last Monday ended in horrific scenes after a car ploughed into the crowd, leaving 79 people injured. Drawn from Paris suburbs In a message on X, formerly Twitter, Macron hailed a "day of glory for PSG". "Bravo, we are all proud," he wrote. "Paris is the capital of Europe tonight." The margin of victory was the greatest in a final in the history of the Champions League or the European Cup that preceded it. Many of the stars of the team, one of the youngest in the competition, are drawn from the huge football talent pool in the Paris suburbs after PSG's Qatari owners turned their back on their former policy of signing star players like Neymar and Lionel Messi. While Doue cemented his status as a rising star in world football, Senny Mayulu, another 19-year-old, came on as a substitute towards the end of the match and scored the fifth goal. Mayulu said afterwards that the achievement would take time to sink in. "I still can't believe it, I think it will only seem real tomorrow. In the dressing room, everyone broke down in their own way, you could see it in their eyes, people were filled with joy and pride." Lifting the trophy on Saturday after losing in their only other appearance in the final five years ago was the result of hundreds of millions of euros pumped into PSG since Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) bought an ailing club in 2011. "The objective now is to win again. It has taken 14 years of hard work but we are building something for the future," PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi said. © 2025 AFP
Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
Two dead, hundreds arrested during PSG Champions League celebrations
French authorities say two fans died after celebrations around the country for Paris Saint-Germain's historic Champions League victory, European club football's biggest prize. A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the city of Dax during a PSG street party, according to the national police. And a man was killed in Paris when his scooter was hit by a car during PSG celebrations, the interior minister's office said. The circumstances of both deaths are being investigated. French interior minister Bruno Retailleau commented in a post on social media on Saturday after the game: 'True PSG fans are getting excited about their team's magnificent performance. Meanwhile, barbarians have taken to the streets of Paris to commit crimes and provoke law enforcement … It is unbearable that it is not possible to party without fearing the savagery of a minority of thugs who respect nothing.' A police officer was accidentally hit by fireworks in northwest France and placed in an artificial coma because of grave eye injuries, the national police service said. The interior ministry said 18 police officers in Paris were injured, along with three elsewhere in France, as were 192 people celebrating in the streets. A total of 294 people were arrested by 2 am, though the celebrations were mostly peaceful apart from the descent into violence in some areas. Meanwhile, the Paris Saint-Germain squad is returning from Munich to the French capital on Sunday to continue celebrating with tens of thousands of the team's fans. They are set to arrive in Paris at 4 pm on the club's own Qatar Airways jet.
Euronews
6 hours ago
- Euronews
Two dead after Champions League win celebration in France
French authorities say two fans died after celebrations around the country for Paris Saint-Germain's historic Champions League victory, European club football's biggest prize. A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the city of Dax during a PSG street party, according to the national police. And a man was killed in Paris when his scooter was hit by a car during PSG celebrations, the interior minister's office said. The circumstances of both deaths are being investigated. French interior minister Bruno Retailleau commented in a post on social media on Saturday after the game: 'True PSG fans are getting excited about their team's magnificent performance. Meanwhile, barbarians have taken to the streets of Paris to commit crimes and provoke law enforcement … It is unbearable that it is not possible to party without fearing the savagery of a minority of thugs who respect nothing.' A police officer was accidentally hit by fireworks in northwest France and placed in an artificial coma because of grave eye injuries, a national police source told the French news agency AFP. The interior ministry said 18 police officers in Paris were injured, along with three elsewhere in France, as were 192 people celebrating in the streets. Hundreds of people were arrested in the celebrations, which were largely peaceful but degenerated into violence in some areas. Meanwhile, the Paris Saint-Germain squad is returning from Munich to the French capital on Sunday to continue celebrating with tens of thousands of the team's fans. They are set to arrive in Paris at 4 pm on the club's own Qatar Airways jet.
