Whistleblower: a documentary on Karim Ben Ali aired on September 14

He went from shadow to light in a matter of weeks. Unknown to the general public three and a half years ago, Karim Ben Ali entered the media sphere in spite of himself with a bang. In December 2016, this father filmed himself spilling a yellowish liquid on the ArcelorMittal dung in Hayange, on the instructions of his superiors. The video, published on the internet in June 2017, would change his life. He, the ArcelorMittal subcontractor, suddenly became a whistleblower. Convinced of having revealed an acid pollution *, he did not yet know how long and exhausting his fight for the truth would be.

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“I did my duty as a citizen”

For three years, the cameras of France 3 followed him. They show it wrung out by the mediatico-judicial machine. Tired of having to constantly prove his good faith. “I know what I did,” he shouts at the goal. The documentary also shows the loneliness of a man and his inexorable descent into hell. He who, at the end of filming in 2019, has still not found a job.

Between Thionville, the Fensch valley, Metz and Paris, the camera follows the journey of a man who has become, in his own words, “a plague victim”. “I am destroyed,” he blurted out. “Yet it was a strong gesture for me. I wanted to show that we, children of immigrants, love our country France. I have done my duty as a citizen. “

This 52-minute documentary is part of the “Les Désobéissants” series, devoted to whistleblowers in France. It will be broadcast on France 3 Grand-Est on Monday evening at 11:05 p.m., after the local stall. Viewers who receive television via TNT will not have to do anything. Those with an internet box must connect to the France 3 Grand-Est channel.

* In September 2019, the Thionville court acquitted ArcelorMittal. Too much vagueness surrounded the nature of the liquid spilled that day. The appeal process is still ongoing.

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