(IPI/IFEX) – In a 20 March 2002 letter to Minister of Culture and Communications Catherine Tasca, IPI expressed its deep concern over attempts to prevent the distribution in France of free daily newspapers. According to information before IPI, copies of “20 Minutes” were stolen and dumped in the street on 15 March by French print […]
(IPI/IFEX) – In a 20 March 2002 letter to Minister of Culture and Communications Catherine Tasca, IPI expressed its deep concern over attempts to prevent the distribution in France of free daily newspapers.
According to information before IPI, copies of “20 Minutes” were stolen and dumped in the street on 15 March by French print union members in a growing dispute over what the CGT-Filpac trade union sees as a threat to France’s media landscape. Consequently, some twenty per cent of the launch edition was not distributed. “20 Minutes” is jointly owned by the Norwegian media group Schibsted, the French group Spir Communication and its main shareholder, Sofiouest.
IPI was also informed that union activists halted distribution trucks on 18 and 19 March and again seized copies of the newspaper, while police, who allegedly have explicit orders to intervene only in cases of physical violence, looked on.
In February, CGT-Filpac members tried to disrupt the launch of another free paper, the Swedish-owned “Metro”, raiding a printing plant near Marseille and leaving 50,000 copies of the daily out in the overnight rain. Moreover, “Metro” street distributors in both Paris and Marseille have been reportedly physically assaulted by union activists armed with knives and guns. On 14 March, thousands of copies of “Metro” were seized from distributors and dumped in the street outside the company’s office in central Paris in a renewed protest against the free daily.
While not wanting to delve into the debate over the impact of free newspapers, IPI condemns all actions that prevent the distribution of distribute news and information.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the minister of culture and communications:
– urging her to do everything in her power to ensure that the principles pertaining to an unfettered flow of information are upheld and that the publishers of “20 Minutes” and “Metro” are allowed to distribute their newspapers without fear of harassment or intimidation
– further urging her to bring together all parties involved in order to address trade union concerns and to seek an amicable solution to this dispute
Appeals To
Her Excellency Madame Catherine Tasca
Minister of Culture and Communications
Ministry of Culture
3, rue de Valois
75001 Paris
France
Fax: + 331 42 61 35 77
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
