France attacked on press freedom
Attempts to restrict press freedom and cut internet access have seen France accused of “becoming a country of censors”
FRANCE has been attacked by rights watchdog Reporters without Borders (RSF) over attempts to restrict press freedom, attacks on media groups and the Hadopi law’s threat to cut internet access.
General secretary Jean-François Julliard said France was only 44th in its latest annual report and blamed the presidential majority for its “menacing words, sometimes insulting, towards certain medias”.
He added: “In many countries, the French government is no longer considered as caring about freedom of information. France has lost its model reputation in this domain.”
The index measures violations of press freedom across 178 countries using questionnaires to partner organisations, lawyers, human rights groups and journalists.
Finland, Iceland and Holland top the list and France dropped one place this year. Only 13 of the EU’s 27 members are in the top 20. The UK is 19th and Italy is 49th.
France is singled out for creating Hadopi, the Haute autorité pour la diffusion des œuvres et la protection des droits sur internet, which threatens to take away internet access from people suspected of illegal downloads.
Mr Julliard said the link to press freedom was not immediately obvious, but cutting internet access was a “restriction of the basic right of access to information. A household should not lose its internet access because one member has pirated some film. France is becoming a country of censors.”
The RSF was disappointed at the lack of progress in some countries, above all, France and Italy. It highlighted “violation of the protection of journalists' sources, the continuing concentration of media ownership, displays of contempt and impatience on the part of government officials towards journalists and their work, and judicial summonses, all have confirmed their inability to reverse this trend".
Check the Reporters without Borders list here
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