France: Bodyguards escort nurses back from work following Paris assaults

W/S Lariboisiere Hospital, Paris
M/S Lariboisiere Hospital
W/S Security guards
M/S Nurses being escorted
W/S Nurses being escorted
SOT, Samia, Nurse (French): “Now I can say that we go back home in peace, being unafraid, not wondering if we are going to be assaulted. We saw the police interpellating aggressive people, some colleagues have been assaulted. I think those people are addicted to drugs or have problems. It is happening more often because there are fewer people on the streets so we can feel it more, so after several cases the hospital organised a security presence for us."
W/S Nurses being escorted *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Cisse, Nurse (French): “We have several colleagues who have been assaulted. There is a rumour of a drug addict just nearby this area who is a bit dangerous. It is the first time that something like that has been put in place (police escort). I think it’s a good thing because I know it’s daylight but when it’s night time it’s a bit more dangerous.”
W/S Station
M/S Nurse being escorted
W/S People making noises from buildings
SOT, Ludo, Security agent (French): ”The same force that they give to people in their work, we hope to give them by helping them, by working for them, and helping them to get home safely.”
W/S Buildings *CUTAWAY*
SOT, Ludo, Security agent (French): “Some people are in need, some people are drug addicts, some people just think of money, some others didn’t understand what confinement means, so it would be best that people that we need can work properly, people that are important in these times.”
W/S Nurse being escorted
SCRIPT
Nurses working at Lariboisiere hospital in Paris were seen being escorted by bodyguards on their way to take the train back from work, following reports of an increased number of attempted assaults and muggings against them.
Footage filmed on Saturday shows a group of health workers being accompanied by the guards at the end of their shift to ensure their safety.
“Now I can say that we go back home in peace, being unafraid, not wondering if we are going to get assaulted. We saw the police interpellating aggressive people, some colleagues have been assaulted,” stated Samia, a nurse.
“I think those people are addicted to drugs or have problems. It is happening more often because there are fewer people in the streets so we can feel it more, so after several cases the hospital organised a security presence for us,” she added.
One of the security agents in charge of escorting the nurses, Ludo, highlighted the increased importance of making sure health workers stay safe during the outbreak of coronavirus. “Some people are in need, some people are drug addicts, some people just think of money, some others didn’t understand what confinement means, so it would be best that people that we need can work properly, people that are important in these times," he said.
France has 83,031 registered cases of coronavirus and 7,574 deaths as of Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University.