Free after 18 months with the Taliban

“Free at last,” headlines French daily Libération, following the release June 29 of two French journalists who were held hostage for 547 days by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Hervé Ghesquière and Stéphane Taponier work for French public television station France 3. While rejoicing over the event, Libération focuses on the controversy and the battle, which, throughout their detention, opposed their support committee to the French presidency. “Should a lot of media attention be given to these captives or, as the Americans do more and more often, should we maintain total silence? In this case, both methods were blended together so that it’s impossible to measure the efficiency of this option. Was a ransom paid? It’s hard to know, but what if that is the price of freedom?” the Paris daily wonders. “Should journalists continue to be sent to Afghanistan” despite the criticism aimed by the French presidency at journalists who go after scoops “at any price” and about the “considerable cost” engendered by the affair? the paper further queries. “Of course, a properly functioning democracy depends on it,” Libé concludes.