Presidency accused of violating press freedom

Published on 14 September 2010 at 10:11

Cover

"Presidency has violated the law protecting the confidentiality of journalists' sources," headlines Le Monde, announcing its intention to file formal charges in order to ensure that "the freedom of the press will be strictly respected". The daily claims that the government's counter-espionage services were called in to identify the source — in this case, a highly-placed official — who was the informant for one of its journalists covering the Woerth-Bettencourt affair. "To simply ignore the law was the solution envisioned by the Sarkozy administration to contain the blaze. But just like a wildfire, every day, or nearly so, it just gets bigger. It becomes rather convenient to accuse reporters of starting the fires", reads the editorial of Le Monde.

Tags

Was this article useful? If so we are delighted!

It is freely available because we believe that the right to free and independent information is essential for democracy. But this right is not guaranteed forever, and independence comes at a cost. We need your support in order to continue publishing independent, multilingual news for all Europeans.

Discover our subscription offers and their exclusive benefits and become a member of our community now!

Are you a news organisation, a business, an association or a foundation? Check out our bespoke editorial and translation services.

Support independent European journalism

European democracy needs independent media. Join our community!

On the same topic