French press reports arrests of those responsible for the murder of Marielle Franco

The arrest of the alleged perpetrators of the murder of councilor Marielle Franco and driver Anderson Gomes has repercussions in the French press. The newspaper Le Monde highlights statements by Marinete da Silva, Marielle’s mother, about the involvement of police chief Rivaldo Barbosa, former head of the Rio Civil Police, one of those arrested, whose role in obstructing the investigations surprised the Franco family.

The words of former federal deputy Marcelo Freixo, current president of Embratur, also caught the newspaper’s attention. “The CVs of the three accused say a lot about the collapse of a supposedly ‘wonderful’ city, where armed militias made up of former police officers reign, where the mafia and public power merge”, declared Freixo, who was close to Marielle . “This investigation is essential for us to understand the extent of the abyss into which Rio fell”, commented the current president of Embratur.

Le Monde explains that the investigations advanced after the election of President Lula, but that deputy Chiquinho Brazão, from the União Brasil party, kept his diplomatic passport during the investigations in which the Federal Police already had evidence that he and his brother were the masterminds of the crime. “We are closer to justice” but “there is still a long way to go”, underlined minister Anielle Franco, completing the Le Monde.