Fallout in France following Taliban interview

There has been outrage from many quarters here in France following the publication on Thursday of an interview with the leader of a faction of the Taliban, who launched an ambush on French soldiers in Afghanistan in August, killing 10 and injuring 21.

But the outcry has not been so much at the content of the piece that appeared in the weekly magazine, Paris Match, as much as over the photographs published alongside it.

And it has left many with more than a bad taste in their mouths questioning how and where journalists draw the line in offending the sensibilities of others over a subject that is bound to stir controversy - and increase circulation figures.

The photographs in question accompany an exclusive interview conducted by the two journalists for the magazine, and they show some of the Taliban, their faces covered by scarves, dressed in the military uniform of the dead soldiers, as well as some personal effects taken from the victims.

"It's objectionable and hurts to see these killers parading around in the clothes of French troops," Joël Le Pahun, the father of one of those who was killed told Agence France Presse.

And he wasn't alone in his views. Similar sentiments were echoed by many, including Michel Stollsteiner, the French general who commands the region of Kabul.

Interviewed on a national radio station here on Thursday morning, Stollsteiner said that he had been "revolted" by the publication of the photographs and that in his view they had added nothing but pain to families back in France already trying to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones.

Speaking on another national radio station, the French defence minister, Hervé Morin, commented that the Taliban had clearly grasped how to do battle in the "communications war".

"They have understood that public opinion in the West is probably the Achille's heel of the international community present in Afghanistan," he said.

"Should we be actively helping promote the views of those who have completely understood the power of communication?"

Hervé Morin, French minister of defence

(from Wikipedia, credit US Department of Defense)

For an answer to that question of course, it's important to understand why Paris Match decided to publish the photographs.

And the magazine's management has defended its decision by saying it "understands" how upsetting the photographs might be to many in France, but insisting that it "has a duty to cover both sides of the war."

It also denied charges that the Taliban had been able to manipulate the circumstances and way in which the interview was conducted, maintaining that it was the responsibility of journalists to "show life as it is."

One of the journalists who made the report, Véronique de Viguerie, was also interviewed on French national radio on Thursday and tried to shed some light on her motivations.

"I absolutely do not want to appear as though I am without heart, or without feelings," she said.

"I thought I was just doing my job and I hope that wouldn't bring hurt to anyone."

De Viguerie also said that she knew of the existence of a video that had been taken during the ambush on the French soldiers, but Paris Match, has insisted that there was no way footage from that video would be shown in the magazine.