The 26th place for France

Every year, the association called “Reporters sans frontières” (Reporters without borders) publishes a ranking relative to press freedom. The association defines press freedom as “the effective possibility for journalists, as individuals and as collectives, to select, produce and disseminate information in the public interest, independently of political, economic, legal and social interference, and without threat to their physical and mental safety.“.

Last year we were 34^th.  In 2022, France is 26^th out of 180, which means that we progressed, but still for a country that is supposed to be democratic and claims freedom, equality, fraternity, as a national motto, we could do better for sure.

Why this rank?

A few reasons can explain it. But first maybe we should have a look at how the press is regulated in France.

First, the legal framework in France about press freedom is defined in the 11^th article of the Universal Right Declaration of men and citizens which states the liberty of expression to anyone and in any form, if it does not create an offence (for example discrimination or defamation). Another law text is central about press: the 1881 Law about press and freedom of speech. This law defines the freedoms and responsibilities of the French press and imposes a legal framework on all publications. There is also an instance called Arcom which is in charge to take care about the application of this law for TV and radio, but the written press and internet aren’t under their control.

Journalism ethics relate to the duties and rights of journalists. These are declarative charters. Thus, the non-respect of duties or rights (against journalists) cannot be sanctioned by justice.

The deontology of journalism in France is based on two fundamental texts: The Munich Charter (1971) and the Charter of Professional Ethics of Journalists (revised in 2011). Journalists are supposed to:

–   Respect the truth

–   Defend freedom of speech and critics

–   Only publish something that is proven

–   Not obtain information thanks to money

–   Respect privacy

–   Keep their sources secrets if needed/wanted

–   Do not copy or defame

–   Propaganda or advertising are prohibited

–   Only answer to the redaction indications and to not being pressured by anyone else

“Not being pressured by anyone else”

Maybe this is the major problem in France about press freedom. Most of the media is private. Therefore, the press is less free, not because of state control, but because of the economic factor. In the first place, the media belong to large groups. Following the logic of a company, their mission is to make money. On top of that, the media must function, and for that, they need advertisers. The economic system that governs the existence of the media limits freedom to a certain extent.

Some big industrial groups became leaders in the media world, they bought a lot of them. For instance, Vincent Bolloré, is the CEO of a group of transport, logistics and the 14^th richest man in France. He and his company own Canal +, Cnews, C8, Europe 1, RFM, Virgin Radio, Voici, Capital, Gala, Paris Match and the JDD, which are some of the most popular radio, TV Channel, and newspapers in France.

We call this problem the concentration of media. An independent online newspaper called Mediapart, which is known for being an alert launcher, produced this year a documentary film called “Media crash: who killed the public debate”. In the movie, they talk about an affair that is a good illustration of the big groups’ power: a reporter was making an article for Le Monde (first newspaper in France) and because she was digging in Bolloré little secrets, the advertising agency Publicis (also owned by Bolloré) asked to all their clients to not publish any adds in Le Monde. It is obviously a big problem for the redaction: they lost around 16M of euros. Because of that, the journalist was not allowed to do this type of article anymore.

Much more editorialist than journalist…

An editorialist is a person that gives his opinion, write a critique about something. These days in France, and because of the economic competitive side of journalism, a lot of redaction focuses more on the buzz than on their duties. A journalist should always write as neutral as possible and give an overview about the different points of view. It is also a consequence of the Internet: the shortest you give your point the easiest it becomes viral. And when it is viral, you get more visibility which means more money in the end.

Last explanation of our 26^th rank

Lately, media coverage of public demonstrations has become complicated. Several cases of violence from the police against journalists had been reported. It leads to a lot of protestation and indignation, most of the time on social media. When there is video of the aggression it can be broadcast on social media or on TV news for example to denounce those crimes. But most of the time it doesn’t really lead to some efficient justice decisions or punishment…

Thanks for reading! If you want to know more about media in France, I really recommend the Mediapart’s documentary which I quote ☺️