Yahoo News Cannes Film Festival Head Thierry Frémaux Gets Into Scrap With Cop On Croisette
UPDATED with statement from festival: Cannes delegate general Thierry Fremaux was caught up in an altercation with a local police officer in Cannes in the early hours of Thursday after riding his electric bicycle on the pavement in front of the Carlton hotel.
Video making the rounds on social networks shows Frémaux in a tuxedo in a heated argument with a local police officer on the hotel forecourt.
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Images of the incident were captured by veteran French journalist Eric Morillot who posted two sets of footage on his Twitter account.
The first Tweet shows the officer accosting Frémaux and making contact with the delegate general, pushing him to one side and preventing him from entering the Carlton.
🔴 Vous rouliez à bicyclette sur le trottoir.
Un policier vous a demandé deux fois de vous arrêter.
Quand il vous rattrape devant le Carlton vous l’accusez de vous avoir agressé.
Je vous le redis ici, Thierry Frémaux, vous aviez tort et vous n’êtes pas au dessus des lois !… pic.twitter.com/JHKuHIjWGy— Eric Morillot (@EricMorillot) May 20, 2023
A second video (above) shows Frémaux pointing his finger at the officer, who shoves him, prompting Frémaux to shout, “Give me your name!”.
He then accuses the officer of jostling him, before announcing his attention to “file a complaint”.
French media reported the local police chief as saying the incident was just one of many “moments of stress” taking place during the festival and that the matter was quickly resolved with Frémaux and the policer officer going on to shake hands.
Contacted by Deadline about the incident, the festival said: “Last Thursday, at 2 a.m. in the morning, there was a lively discussion between a municipal police officer and Thierry Frémaux. The truncated video circulating on social networks is absolutely not an exact reflection. In the minutes that followed, a frank and cordial explication took place, bringing an end to the exchange. The chapter is closed.”
Frémaux announced at his opening press conference that he would be riding a bicycle to get around the festival this year in a gesture aimed at reducing his carbon footprint – perhaps, he will be now returning to the comfort of his official car.
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