On Friday, France 3 public television showed unprecedented footage of the liberation of Perpignan from Nazi occupation (Perpignan, Northern Catalonia), explaining that the images have only been able to be broadcast thanks to one of the journalists, Alain Sabatier's, finding. Sabatier is also the son of the author of the archives, which had remained hidden in the attic of the Baudot family for years.
The images were recorded on 19th and 20th August, 1944 in the city of Perpignan, when it had already been liberated after the fighting between the allied and Nazi troops. The images show, among other things, the fire of the church of the Carmes, site of the ammunition depot sabotaged by the Germans when they fled from the arrival of the allies.
The images last for 24 minutes and were recorded by Pierre Baudot with a small camera. Years later, the footage was found by their son, Jean-Claude Baudot.
"We had a balcony on the first floor of the house. And this is where my father filmed the images of the explosion of the arsenal. There were flames and especially a thick black smoke. He did not go there to film right away because there was gunfire coming from all sides... in his own way, he was aware he was reporting on the events." he explained.