France: RSF calls on parliament to legally enshrine the right to reliable information
This Thursday, 13 February, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) held a seminar for French members of parliament on the legal application of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), organised in partnership with the Sciences Po Journalism School. RSF called on the parliamentarians to create a cross-party think tank on press freedom and the right to reliable information.
"We call on parliamentarians to join together in a joint study group that will enable a cross-party legislative response. To protect the right to reliable independent information in France, they must start with the recommendations made by the General Assembly on Information — especially when it comes to applying the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) to French law. We welcome the participation and shared commitment of parliamentarians on these crucial issues: source confidentiality, editorial independence and the amplification of reliable information.
Since 8 November 2024, when Article 3 of the EMFA entered into force, access to a plurality of reliable sources of information has been recognized as a right for European citizens. EU Member States must now define the “framework conditions” within their national legislation to guarantee the right is concretely upheld.
From protecting journalists’ sources to guaranteeing editorial independence to mitigating media concentration, French law must be updated to ensure, at minimum, it is compatible with European legislation. For this reason, RSF gathered French parliamentarians on 13 February to discuss the content of the EMFA, which came into force on 7 May 2024, and ensure its implementation so that the right to reliable independent information is effectively enforced.
This seminar came five months after the General Assembly on Information (EGI), a French initiative to protect reliable information in the digital age, published its recommendations, which include ten RSF proposals to facilitate transposing the European legislation into French law.
Three round tables for the right to information
The event was introduced by Thibaut Bruttin, RSF Director General, Alice Antheaume, Executive Director of the Sciences Po Journalism School, and Bruno Patino, President of the Franco-German TV channel Arte and the EGI’s steering committee. Three roundtable discussions followed, addressing with themes at the heart of the RSF mission as well as the issues raised by the EMFA and the EGIs.
The first round table — moderated by Antoine Bernard, RSF Director of Advocacy and Assistance, MPs Erwan Balanant (Finistère), Céline Calvez (Hauts-de-Seine), Aurélien Saintoul (Hauts-de-Seine) and Senator Catherine Morin-Desailly (Seine-Maritime) — addressed the amplification of reliable sources of information.
In the second and third round tables, which were devoted to media independence, MPs Isabelle Rauch (Moselle) and Sophie Taillé-Polian (Val-de-Marne), along with senators Laure Darcos (Essonne) and Sylvie Robert (Ille-et-Vilaine), discussed source confidentiality, editorial independence and media concentration. These discussions were enriched by the expertise of two moderators: journalist-director Alexandra Colineau and lawyer Benoît Huet.
