Geoffroy Van der Hasselt

The inferno of Notre Dame

16 April 2019

As Notre Dame burned, and thousands spilled onto the streets and quais of Paris to watch the spectacle, AFP journalists were recording the historical moments from every which angle during the 15 hours that it took some 400 firefighters to put out the flames ravaging the 850-year-old structure. Here are a few of their stories.

A 'yellow' explosion in Paris

6 December 2018

The violence seemed to explode everywhere at once during the latest "yellow vest" protest in Paris, marking a major difference between it and previous demonstrations in the capital, write photographers Alain Jocard, Geoffroy Van der Hasselt and Lucas Barioulet.

AFP / Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt
AFP / Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt
AFP / Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt

The Paris underground

28 February 2018

"It was while I was crawling on all fours through a dusty tunnel, pushing my backpack in front of me, that I began to have some doubts about the allure of the forbidden side of the Paris catacombs," writes Geoffroy Van der Hasselt, a photographer based in Paris.

"We had been crawling like this for some time and there was no end in sight. My friend knew what he was doing, he’d been at it for decades, but still, what if we took a wrong turn?"

AFP / Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt
AFP / Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt

Crazy about Crazy Horse

12 January 2018

"When my editor asked if I wanted to take photos at Crazy Horse, I didn’t hesitate," writes photographer Geoffroy Van der Hasselt.

"It’s not every day that you get an opportunity to go behind the scenes of Paris’s legendary strip cabaret."

AFP / Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt
AFP / Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt
AFP / Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt

The rumble at the gates

5 May 2017

"I’ve covered dozens and dozens of protests in the eight years that I’ve worked as a news photographer," writes Paris-based photographer Geoffroy Van der Hasselt. "But the protest by prison guards at the huge Fleury-Merogis prison in France was something else."

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