Lably
Skip to content

Censorship in France

  • 20 min read
  • 12 chapters

Related on Lably

Through Religion, Human Rights Watch and Middle Ages

Lab · Class 6–7Vedic AgeLab · Class 11Nomadic Medieval

There was strong governmental control over radio and television during the 1950s–1970s. Today, the CSA is only responsible for overseeing the observance of French law by the media, such as the 1990 Gayssot Act which prohibits racist and religious hate speech (which historical revisionism, in particular but not only Holocaust denial falls under), and time period allocated to each political party during pre-electoral periods. Furthermore, other laws prohibit homophobic hate speech, and a 1970 law prohibits the advocacy of illegal drugs. In 2016, a television ad which advocated that babies with Down Syndrome should not be aborted solely because of their syndrome ran. It was ruled anti-abortion speech and removed.

Each of these laws has been criticized by some groups, either from the left (especially concerning the 1970 law on drugs) or from the far right (in particular concerning the 1990 Gayssot Act or the laws prohibiting homophobic attacks). Others express the need for minorities to be protected from hate speech which may lead, according to them, to heinous acts and hate crimes, while still others claim that one cannot tolerate free speech concerning drugs as it is a matter of public health and moral order. However, the 2005 vote of the law on colonialism voted by the UMP conservative parliamentary majority has lifted a debate, especially among historians, concerning the legitimacy and relevancy of such "memory laws." Although a fair amount of historians are opposed to such laws, few advocate their repeal because they think that repealing democratically agreed upon laws would be a greater evil. Finally, critics, in particular, but not only, from the left wing, have criticized economic censorship, in particular through concentration of media ownership (Bouygues' influence, for instance, on TF1), or the fact that Dassault or Lagardère, both military firms, control several newspapers in France, such as Le Figaro (owned by Dassault).

Overall, freedom of press is guaranteed by the French Constitution but several effective cases of censorship against newspapers (Le Canard enchaîné, Charlie Hebdo and Hara-Kiri newspapers, etc.), films, or radio-shows, have been registered in the history of the Fifth Republic, founded in 1958. According to Human Rights Watch, 6 percent of French people investigated for "apology for terrorism" are under the age of 14.

History of freedom of press and censorship in France

To the 18th century

Censorship in France may be traced to the Middle Ages. In 1275 Philip III of France put Parisian scriptoria under the control of the University of Paris which inspected manuscript books to verify that they were correctly copied. Correctness of text, not content, was the concern until the early 16th century, when tracts by Martin Luther were printed. On June 13, 1521, Francis I of France decreed that all (religious) books had to be read and approved by the Faculty of Theology of the university, and on August 3, 1521, Parlement ordered that all Lutheran books must be deposited within one week. In 1526, the Parlement of Paris and the Sorbonne issued a ban on the publishing of the Bible in French. On January 13, 1535, an extreme statute was enacted forbidding all printing under threat of hanging and closing all bookshops. This law was quickly abandoned, and Parlement formed a commission to review book printing.

In 1536 it was ordered that all medical books must be approved by the Medical Faculty of the university, and actions were taken against certain publishers of books on medicine and astrology. In 1544, the university banned the printing of any book not approved by the appropriate University officials. In 1543, the Faculty of Theology issued its first Index of prohibited books, all religious, preceding by 16 years the Vatican's issuance of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum in 1559. The Edict of Châteaubriant issued on June 27, 1551, prohibited possessing any books listed on the university's Index; translating the Bible or works of the Church Fathers; importing books from Geneva and other places not under the Church's control; or printing or selling of any religious books written in the last 40 years.

The state itself began to take a greater role in censorship over the university and in 1566, the Ordonnance of Moulins was issued, banning the writing, printing or selling of defamatory books attacking individuals' good reputations and requiring that all books published must be approved and include the privilege and the great seal. The state control was strengthened in 1571 by the edict of Gaillon which placed enforcement of the censorship laws in the Chancellor's office instead of the university.

The concern of the censors was "heresy, sedition and personal libel" until 1629, when censorship began to focus also on immorality and indecency. "Nevertheless ... the government was never so much concerned about looseness of morals as it was about freedom of thought." Manuscripts had to be approved by the Chancellor before publication and a register of permits was maintained. During the 17th century, the university and the state fought over control of censorship, which was haphazard. In 1653, the university was stripped of authority and replaced by royal censors. The royal censors office expanded in the 18th century and banned hundreds of titles. Books that were approved were required to include the censor's name and certificate of approval. Censorship was eventually under the authority of the office of the Director of the Book Trade, the most famous of which was Lamoignon de Malesherbes. Penalties for violations ranged from confiscation of books which often were burned, fines, imprisonment and even death. In the later 18th century these rules were increasingly evaded by printers and booksellers.

19th century

The loi sur la liberté de la presse of 29 July 1881 was passed under the French Third Republic in 1881 by the then-dominant Opportunist Republicans who sought to liberalise the press and promote free public discussion. The new law swept away a swathe of earlier statutes, stating at the outset the principle that "Printing and publication are free".

Following Auguste Vaillant's assassination attempt, the first anti-terrorist laws was voted in 1893, which were quickly denounced as lois scélérates. These laws severely restricted freedom of expression. The first one condemned apology of any felony or crime as a felony itself, permitting widespread censorship of the press. The second one allowed to condemn any person directly or indirectly involved in a propaganda of the deed act, even if no killing was effectively carried on. The last one condemned any person or newspaper using anarchist propaganda (and, by extension, socialist libertarians present or former members of the International Workingmen's Association (IWA):

1. Either by provocation or apology [...] incited one or more persons to commit either robbery, or the crimes of murder, pillage, or arson [...]; 2. Or directed a provocation towards soldiers in the Army or Navy, with the aim of diverting them from their military duties and the obedience they owe their superiors ... would be referred to the police correctional courts and punished by imprisonment for three months to two years.

20th century

World War I

During World War I, postal censorship was in force, as the French state thought it necessary to control the public's morale and thus engaged in a sort of psychological warfare. Censorship was current during the war, leading to the 1915 creation of Le Canard enchaîné weekly, which used satires and other games of words to pass through "Anastasia's scissors", as was popularly called the censors (such word games still exist in Le Canard, for leisure purposes, such as the section named "Sur l'album de la Comtesse")..

World War II

France fell to German forces in May 1940. The occupying German military administration set up a propaganda effort headquartered in Paris, with branches (Propagandastaffel) in major cities. The propaganda effort included monitoring and censorship of the French press and of publishing, film, advertising and speeches.

Fifth Republic

Censorship laws were revoked with the founding of the Fifth Republic in 1958, although cases of censorship still occurred (in particular concerning films or satirical newspapers). The proclamation of the state of emergency, used during the Algerian War (1954–1962) and also in 2005, during the civil unrest, allows the state to legally censor news articles and other media productions (used during the Algerian War, this censorship disposition was not used in 2005)..

Henri Alleg's book La Question denouncing torture by the French Army during the Algerian war was censored, as well as other similar books and films, such as The Battle of Algiers.

In 2003 , UMP deputy Nadine Morano called on Interior Minister (UMP) Nicolas Sarkozy to prosecute the hip hop group Sniper for inciting violence against the police. after the 2005 riots 200 UMP deputies, led by François Grosdidier, brought a petition against several groups including Fabe, Sniper, 113, Lunatic, and others. In March 2006 Grosdidier, frustrated by failure of court actions, proposed a law (no.2957) to amend the law of 29 July 1881 to explicitly remove speech protections for music and sanction racism against the majority by a minority.

In 1987 a law repressing inciting suicide was passed, after a best-selling book called Suicide, mode d'emploi was published in 1982. The bill was first adopted by the Senate in 1983; in 1987, during the debates before the National Assembly, the book was cited by name as a prime example of what was to be banned. This book, written by two anarchists (Claude Guillon and Yves Le Bonniec), contained a historic and theoretical account of suicide, as well as a critical overview of ways to commit suicide. The book could not be rereleased in 1989 because of that law. The book is thus censored de facto, unavailable in all libraries and bookshops in France. It has never been translated into English.

21st century

In 2006, Interior Minister and former President of the Republic Nicolas Sarkozy was accused of interfering in the management of Paris Match after it published photos of Cécilia Sarkozy with another man in New York. The firing of the Paris Match director by Hachette Filipacchi Médias coincided with several other instances of self-censorship in French media.

In April 2013 a volunteer with administrator's access to the French language Wikipedia was summoned by the direction centrale du Renseignement intérieur (Central Directorate of Homeland Intelligence, DCRI), a division of France's interior ministry. The volunteer was ordered to take down an article that had been online since 2009 concerning a military radio relay station at Pierre-sur Haute. DCRI claimed the article contained classified military information, for reasons that to date remain unclear, and broke French law. The volunteer, who had no connection with the article, explained "that's not how Wikipedia works" and told them he had no right to interfere with editorial content, but was told he would be held in custody and charged if he failed to comply. The article was promptly restored by a Swiss Wikipedia contributor. Christophe Henner, vice-president of Wikimedia France, said "if the DCRI comes up with the necessary legal papers we will take down the page. We have absolutely no problem with that and have made it a point of honour to respect legal injunctions; it's the method the DCRI used that is shocking."

On 15 December 2017, France's Constitutional Court rejected a bill to make visiting terrorist websites a criminal offence, citing "inviolability of freedom of communication and expression" as a reason.

In 2024, the sui generis collectivity of France, New Caledonia in the Pacific (also part of EEA) banned TikTok, after riots, and also banned public gatherings.

Sign in to keep reading

11 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in India

MuslimsAdherents of IslamPresidencies and provinces of British India1612–1947 British directly-ruled administrative divisions in IndiaStates and union territories of IndiaIndia is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 sSikhsReligious groupInternational Alphabet of Sanskrit TransliterationTransliteration scheme for Indic scriptsPrime Minister of IndiaHead of government