In our summer series “Threats to Information”, we decipher the pressures that journalists are subjected to in different countries around the world. In France, these pressures are most often of the judicial or financial order. But Max Lagarrigue, a local journalist, is the victim of cyber-harassment and death threats from far-right groups. While practicing his profession, he became the target of a breeder from Tarn-et-Garonne, to the point of calling on police protection.
On June 25, journalist Max Lagarrigue arrived in court surrounded by six police officers. He is a civil party and accuses Pierre-Guillaume Mercadal, a pig farmer, of harassment. He is not the only one on the bench of alleged victims: two mayors of Tarn-et-Garonne and a policewoman have also filed a complaint. Close to identity circles, the farmer mobilized support on the Internet regarding a neighborhood affair. The dispute took on unexpected proportions, and the journalist who reported the twists and turns found himself in the storm. Personally targeted in the videos posted by Pierre-Guillaume Mercadal, Max Lagarrigue was harassed, intimidated, and even his family was impacted. The prosecutor requested a fine of 11,000 euros and an eight-month suspended prison sentence against the farmer for repeat harassment and contempt.
The final decision will be announced on July 26.
A parish quarrel
It all starts with a road war, a quarrel in a French countryside, that of Tarn-et-Garonne, more precisely in the commune of Montjoi. It is a dispute over the use of a road that pits a pig farmer, Pierre-Guillaume Mercadal, against his English neighbor. The mayor supports the neighbor’s version.
A dispute that could have remained anecdotal. But that’s without counting the intervention of Papacito, a far-right YouTuber who published two videos on the subject: ” The Peasant, the Mayor and the Lord “, as well as ” The Montjoi marten “, the nickname he gives to the mayor. Content clearly taking the side of the pig farmer, and threatening the elected official with rape and death.
In the circle of ” lol fafs “, that is to say, the far-right groups taking up the codes of humor on the Internet, these videos have the effect of a bomb. They are viewed several hundred thousand times. This is the beginning of ” the arch of Montjoi “Pierre-Guillaume Mercadal will also make his own videos, communicating mainly on the social network TikTok.
Papacito’s fans, who are very active on the Internet, will then cyberbullying the mayor of Montjoi. A campaign that also concerns the journalist Max Lagarrigue, who works for the local daily The Midi Dispatch and who relayed the case in these pages. Namely targeted in the videos, the journalist finds himself in a whirlwind of threats, which flood his mailbox. He decides to file a complaint for harassment. Pierre-Guillaume Mercadal having already been convicted for the same reason, it was accused of harassment in repeat offense and contempt that the breeder appeared on June 25.
“Look closely at my head, because it’s going to go quickly.”
On Instagram, an account with a profile picture of a man shooting a revolver sends this message. Tick tock tick tock, watch out for the collaborator. I can’t wait to meet you. Look closely at my face, because it’s going to go quickly. ” Threats that make the journalist hesitate. Is it too risky to go to the hearing? Finally, he goes, but surrounded by six police officers. An escort that reassured him in front of his welcoming committee at the doors of the court: activists from the Rural Coordination, an agricultural union close to the extreme right. According to the journalist, there were about forty of them.
He is used to police protection: his home has been under surveillance since January. A toxic climate, which also affects the family sphere. His story has caused concern in the profession: the European Journalists’ Foundation is concerned about the increase in attacks in France against his journalists. Max Lagarrigue has asked himself several times whether he would stop working on the case. The answer is no. He continues to publish articles describing the character of Pierre Guillaume Mercadal, despite a new video posted at the end of June by the breeder: in all, the journalist has signed a dozen articles on him, recently an investigation into his online kitty, funds of more than 800,000 euros collected from his supporters in far-right communities.
According to Max Lagarrigue’s article, the breeder is using this money to expand his property and aims to buy back his neighbor’s house, and therefore the famous path. The farmer denies this on TikTok, while calling on his fans not to harass the people he targets in his videos. In order not to risk more than the prosecutor’s requisitions, namely eight months of suspended prison sentence and a fine of 11,000 euros.
In the meantime, Max Lagarrigue continues to follow the Mercadal affair, and has no intention of giving in to intimidation. This is the question in the family: should I continue to work in the same way, follow this subject, is it worth it. The family’s answer is “stop working on it and move on.” But I don’t see why. We are in France, we are not in Russia, in an authoritarian or totalitarian country. We still have the right to work as we see fit on subjects: from the moment we have information, we must process it. “.
Pierre-Guillaume Mercadal’s lawyer declined to comment on the case before the final decision, which will be announced on July 26.