He criticizes him for his positions on Hamas. On Saturday, during the inauguration of the international photojournalism festival Visa pour l’image in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales), the Rassemblement National (RN) mayor Louis Aliot refused to award the City’s Visa d’Or (Rémi Ochlik) to Gazan photographer Loay Ayyoub, reports France Bleu Roussillon.
“I will not be presenting the prize this year, neither I nor anyone from the City,” declared the vice-president of Marine Le Pen’s party, saying he was “uncomfortable with the treatment of this war.” Loay Ayyoub’s exhibition traces in photos the humanitarian crisis in Gaza under Israeli bombs, from October 2023 to February 2024, for the American newspaper Washington Post. He received the Visa d’or from the festival jury.
Louis Aliot assured that he would not question the quality of the journalist’s work, nor the subject of his work or his nationality. “That we talk about Gaza does not bother me, that we talk about the victims of this major conflict seems to me to be healthy in a democracy like ours. It is still necessary that all parties are respected, and I regret to say that they are not,” stressed the RN mayor.
In particular, he criticizes Loay Ayyoub for describing Hamas as “a Palestinian Resistanceincluding when they send rockets at civilians” in his social media posts. “We can criticize Israel, but there must be something in return and a balance in the message,” the mayor of Perpignan said on France Bleu Roussillon. “I would have preferred to award a prize to a totally independent photographer. Even if they were identical photos,” the mayor said.
Editorial freedom
Assuring that he was “not aware” of this choice, Louis Aliot recalled that he did not intervene in the choice of the awarded photographer, “this festival is free, I have absolutely no advice to give nor any influence to exercise”. The director of the festival, Jean-François Leroy, also acknowledged that he had “total freedom over the editorial line of the festival” and that “the Prix de la Ville is awarded by a jury of international directors of photography”.
“They voted for Loay Ayyoub. I don’t have to interpret Mr. Aliot’s decisions,” replied Jean-François Leroy, reports local radio. He made a point of clarifying on the social network X that “the decision of the mayor of Perpignan not to present the trophy in person does not strip Loay Ayyoub of the Rémi Ochlik prize (with the planned endowment), which he will receive through the representative of the Washington Post during the screening evening,” scheduled for September 7.
According to information from France Bleu Roussillon, Loay Ayyoub is currently a refugee in Egypt, without a permanent resident visa, which would complicate his return if he were to come to France.
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