The French have got into the sad habit of one tragedy chasing another. On April 16, 2024, Philippe Coopman was brutally attacked and killed in Grande-Synthe by three people, including two minors aged 14 and 15. With a particular media treatment, which says a lot about the way the media approach insecurity in France. Special mention for The Parisian which stands out in disinformation.
It all starts with a framed photo of green balloons. A smiling young man carries a child whose face is covered with a circle of color. His name is Philippe Coopman and he was killed in Grande-Synthe, in the North. The lucky ones will only see this photo, the others will see another, taken just After his savage attack. The attackers gouged out his eyes, disfigured him and stripped him naked, leaving him with only his underwear.
The story is unbearable and quickly makes the rounds on the networks. The mayor of Grande-Synthe regrets a “ recovery ” by the far right and claims that his city is a model of ” live together » and serenity, comments that local residents hardly share.
Philippe, the Parisian legend about the punished child molester?
Then, another music is composed, propagated by certain highway media. What was Philippe doing in the street that night? He would have arranged to meet a 14-year-old girl, met on Coco, a dating site. Philippe being 22 years old, the label of child abuse comes dangerously close.
The two suspects claim to have trapped him with a false profile of a young girl. From aggressors, for some they become misunderstood heroes who hunt predators. The story is quickly picked up by The Parisianin an article dated April 18 written by Jean-Michel Décugis, Jérémie Pham-Lê and Timothée Bountry.
Jérémie Pham-Lê, the journalist who turns things around
Jérémie Pham-Lê made himself known in particular during the attack on Crépol where he affirmed, in an article dated December 4, 2023, that “ police investigations » revealed “ surprises about responsibilities. Far from fantasies “. The Crépol attackers, who came to a village festival with knives, became unhappy young people wanting to party and faced with racism from the young rugby players of the village. A version which was notably taken up by Patrick Cohen, who has since been called to order by ARCOM.
Jérémie Pham-Lê therefore does it again by reporting the hypothesis according to which Philippe was a child molester. However, the prosecutor insisted from the start that this version was only that of the suspects. Perhaps she would have deserved more prudence, a virtue that she did not exercise The Parisian which titled “ Savage murder of Philippe C. in Grande-Synthe: the victim trapped by teenagers on the Coco dating site ”, without even a question mark. A title which has never been changed, and therefore allows us to continue to believe this defamatory version for the victim.
Jean-Michel Décugis, professional storyteller
As for Jean-Michel Décugis, he is a professional in fake News, as his portrait shows (see below). Already author of a bogus report in Point on polygamy with a witness who never existed, he did it again during the Mehra affair on the Toulouse killings by inventing a neo-Nazi trail out of his imagination. He is once again experiencing his hour of glory as a storyteller in The Parisian in October 2019 by announcing the false arrest of Xavier de Ligonnes on the run since April 2011 and suspected of having murdered his entire family.
See as well : Jean-Michel Décugis, mister Fake News
The Parisiancopied without verification
The Parisian has it become a conspiratorial or gutter media? When he publishes one could assume that it is after serious journalistic work. Thus, when he asserts that the investigation “ making great strides “, we deduce that its conclusions are closer to reality. Follows the portrait of the murderers of Philippe, “ suspected of being at the origin of violence committed two days earlier […] towards a man who had been given an intimate meeting “.
These two are experienced hunters of child molesters. Would Philippe have fallen under their blows? Other media will follow this version, including RMC which, with a similar title, states that “ according to our information, confirming that of the Parisianthe suspects set a trap for the victim by simulating a romantic date with a teenage girl. » The Independent written, repeating in substance the terms of the Parisian :
“ Investigators from the criminal brigade also discovered that Philippe C. was not the first man to have been approached by these young people. Other Internet users were targeted, always with the idea of “punishing” those who responded favorably to requests to meet a young girl »
Two sentences that put Philippe and sexual predators on the same level. The young man finds himself a victim twice: first of his attackers, due to bad luck one could say, then of certain media, The Parisian on your mind.
The truth slower than the rumor
We have since known that that evening, the two miners had set a trap for another individual who, untrusting, did not go to the meeting. The two attackers called him to find out where he was, and Philippe, who was himself on the phone with friends, turned the corner. Philippe was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and encountered the wrong people.
After killing him, the two murderers picked up his phone and noticed that there was someone on the line. They therefore knew that they had got the wrong person, which did not prevent them from giving this version during the investigation, a version which gave them a sort of good role. The Independent, The Parisian, RMCnone has corrected articles that tarnish the memory of a dead person.
An unusual media cabal
The affair is surprising. It happens that victims of attacks are quickly marked by certain media headlines, as if to find excuses for the attackers. This is the case if they have made racist comments, or could be considered as such, or are linked to what we call the extreme right. Nothing like that in Philippe’s profile. Was this erroneous hypothesis of child criminality a solution to stifle yet another proof of the savagery plaguing France? Are some “journalists” smearing the victims so that they are forgotten more quickly? Telling oneself that a new drama will soon make Philippe forget. Let’s wait for the next investigation Parisian…
