France: RSF presses charges over death threats to journalists
The death threats made against journalists on the far-right website Réseau Libre mark a new level of anti-press hatred in France. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), together with the victims and multiple media organisations, have filed a lawsuit. RSF also calls on the authorities to prioritize journalists’ safety.
On Monday 15 July, RSF filed a criminal complaint with the Paris public prosecutor for death threats and incitement to commit a criminal offence, following an article published on the far-right website Réseau Libre. The perpetrators called for “a bullet to the neck” of 180 public figures, including roughly 40 journalists who signed an editorial in favor of the right to information, which was published in L'Humanité, a French daily, on 2 October 2023.
"With the publication of this list, the hatred of the press has reached a new level in France. Given the unprecedented violent nature and severity of these threats, RSF calls on the French authorities to act quickly and double their efforts to protect the victims, identify and prosecute those responsible, and prevent similar threats from recurring.
RSF filed a complaint alongside roughly twenty journalists; several groups of media professionals, including Forbidden Stories, Presse-Papiers and Nothing2Hide; and professional organisations such as the International Federation of Journalists and the French journalist syndicate (Syndicat national des journalistes). The lawsuit, drafted by the law firm Bourdon et Associés, is slated to be processed by the National Office for Combating Online Hatred (Pôle National De Lutte Contre La Haine En Ligne).
The anonymous author of the offending article urged the public to "carefully conserve" this list, insinuating that action should be taken. By unambiguously designating the signatories as "candidates for execution" and "vermin scum that have been rotting France for decades in the name of freedom of expression,” there is no doubt that this list constitutes a call to murder.
Not their first offense
According to an investigation published by the French news site Mediapart, Réseau Libre is web-hosted in Russia, making any judicial cooperation to identify the perpetrators de facto impossible. According to the French weekly Marianne, the website has been inaccessible in France since a court ruling ordered internet service providers to block access to the site "within a fortnight.”
Réseau Libre is already known for its repeated, anonymous calls for the murder of migrants, members of France's Muslim and Jewish communities and, more recently, lawyers and left-wing figures who have spoken out against the Rassemblement National (RN), the far-right party that topped the first round of early legislative elections in June-July 2024.
