Pictures of the Year: A picture and its story
A police officer pepper sprays a protester as another protester stands in front of the race director's car at the 218-km Stage 16 from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon of the Tour de France, July 24, 2018. Reuters photographer Stephane Mahe: "The Tour de France was in its final days. I was aboard a motorbike following a long 218-kilometre stage from Carcassonne in the deep southwest of France up to the Pyrenees. In the early part of the stage I got a little frustrated, unable to find a 'postcard' image or vantage point to shoot the race. After 25 kilometres, the motorbikes were told to gather three kilometres further along. Something was happening at last! I could see a flock of sheep with farmers and police. I jumped down and started to imagine a photo with sheep and the Tour peleton. As I got closer I quickly felt the tension: farmers were there with their livestock and tractors to demonstrate, not to watch the riders. I realised they intended to block the race. The Tour security asked me to leave but I decided to stay as something more than a sporting episode was unfolding. Just before the arrival of the peleton, I saw two young women rush onto the road, shouting and blocking an official Tour car as farmers cheered them on. The gendarmes immediately sprayed tear gas at the two protesters, who screamed and struggled. I took my picture. The two women were quickly removed from the road and the peleton arrived. The cyclists slowed and then stopped, troubled by the tear gas in the air. They struggled to breathe, wiped their eyes. One even asked me if someone had thrown acid in his face. It was chaos. The race was held up for 17 minutes - very unusual. I thought of the two protesters, I knew it was a striking image. That evening, after this stage of Tour was over, I discovered that the photo had gone viral. The protesters had an audience for their fight against the loss of local farming subsidies. But the Tour went on." REUTERS/Stephane Mahe SEARCH "POY STORY" FOR T
