France

(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is an IFJ media release: IFJ calls for “Robust Debate” as Denmark Cartoonists Row Leads to Media Sacking The role of media in promoting better understanding between different cultures calls for a “robust and frank” dialogue among journalists and media professionals said the International Federation of Journalists today, commenting on the […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 7 December 2005, the Council of State, France’s highest administrative court was to review an appeal by Lebanese television station Al-Manar, contesting the cancellation of its broadcast agreement with the country’s broadcast regulator (Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel, CSA). “Al-Manar has been prohibited from broadcasting on the Eutelsat satellite for a year, following […]

(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is an IFJ media release: French State of Emergency and Curfews Could Threaten Press Freedom Warns IFJ The International Federation of Journalists today warned that France’s imposition of a 12-day state of emergency and night-time curfews to curb street violence in major cities could lead to restrictions on press and media […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders said it was concerned and shocked after an examining judge in the Paris suburb of Nanterre placed five journalists under investigation on 12 and 13 October 2005. Three journalists with the weekly “Le Point”, Christophe Labbé, Olivia Recasens and Jean-Michel Décujis, as well as two journalists with the sports daily […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Amid French judicial moves to reactivate an investigation into the near-fatal shooting of “Paris Match” reporter Jacques-Marie Bourget on 21 October 2000 in Ramallah, on the West Bank, RSF reported that it has been granted civil party status in the case before a high-level court in Paris. “We are calling for the clarification […]

(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is an IFJ media release: IFJ Tells Governments to “Back Off” as Iraqi Expulsion Sparks Row Over Interference in Work of Media The news that a French reporter is to be expelled from Baghdad by Iraqi officials claiming they are trying to protect her safety has been greeted with anger by […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 3 May 2005, plainclothes police officers in Orleans interrogated two journalists from the daily “Le Berry Républicain” in an attempt to get them to reveal their sources for their reports about a murder investigation. “It is particularly shocking and untimely that, as World Press Freedom Day was being celebrated all over the […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 13 January 2005, an examining judge led some 10 police officers in a search of the Paris offices of the weekly “Le Point”, in a probe into the “violation of the confidentiality of an investigation” involving an alleged doping scandal within the Cofidis cycling team. A virtually simultaneous search was carried out […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has challenged the 13 December 2004 order by the Council of State, France’s highest administrative court, instructing the French-based Eutelsat satellite to cease broadcasts of Lebanese television station Al-Manar within 48 hours. “Ordering the closure of a media outlet is never a good solution,” said RSF. “Admittedly, Al-Manar has broadcast unacceptable anti-Semitic […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the National Assembly vote of a draft law that would set prison sentences for press infractions. On the night of 7 to 8 December 2004, following a debate on the creation of a regulatory body charged with handling discrimination complaints, the government succeeded in pushing through a series of measures, […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 15 November 2004, the central Paris court handed down the first explicit decision on the Law on Confidence in the Digital Economy (LEN), which judges an Internet service provider’s (ISP) responsibility for content, and ruled in favour of the ISP. The case concerning the 1915 Armenian genocide and pitting the Armenian National […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Seven years after the disappearance of investigative journalist Jean-Pascal Couraud, statements made by a man linked to the Groupe d’intervention de la Polynésie (GIP, the presidential police forces) may force the case to be re-opened. RSF has called on State Prosecutor Jean Bianconi to refer the matter to examining Judge Jean-Bernard Taliercio, who […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned police use of a stun grenade against Georges Bartoli, a freelance photographer working for the news agency Reuters, while he was covering a protest against genetically-modified crops on 25 September 2004 in Valdivienne. Bartoli sustained minor injuries to both legs when the grenade detonated and he had to be hospitalised. […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed concern over the Cayenne prefecture’s refusal to grant journalist Frédéric Farine permission to cover French Overseas Departments Minister Brigitte Girardin’s visit to French Guiana. Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana. On 16 September 2004, Farine, a correspondent for Radio France International’s (RFI) online news service, was refused permission to […]

(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is a 12 July 2004 press release by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), an IFJ affiliate: Journalists Challenge European Commission Over Media Concentration in France The European Federation of Journalists today joined French journalists and media workers in protests over media concentration in France, which “threatens pluralism and diversity.” The […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed its concern over a proposed new law that would make defamation on the grounds of sexual orientation and “incitement to sexual discrimination” punishable by up to one year in prison and a 45,000 euro (approx. US$54,400) fine. The “Bill to Combat Sexist and Homophobic Speech” was announced on 8 June […]