France
2015
Journalists grapple with increasing power of European extremists
Athens, May 6, 2012. Journalists attending Golden Dawn’s triumphal election night news conference are ordered to stand up when the group’s leader, Nikos Michaloliakos, enters the room. “Rise up! Rise up! Show your respect!” barks the master of ceremonies, an agitated black-clad, bald-headed toughie. The journalists who refuse the injunction are asked to leave the…
Cyberattacks rattle French, Belgian media outlets
The headquarters of Le Soir in the center of Brussels, two blocks away from the Parliament, look serene in the spring sunshine. No sign of violence scars the glass and stone facade. But the leading Belgian francophone daily, the flagship of the Rossel media group, has suffered a concussion. On Sunday a wave of hacking…
French-language global TV network TV5Monde hacked
New York, April 9, 2015–The French-language global TV network TV5Monde was disrupted for three hours on Wednesday night by hackers claiming to belong to the militant group Islamic State, according to news reports. The hackers seized control of 11 channels as well as the network’s website and social media accounts, the reports said. TV5Monde restored…
In blocking websites, France abandons role as guardian of free speech
Attempts by the French government this week to use vague legislation to block five websites for “condoning terrorism” would be troubling anywhere, but it is especially tragic coming from the country that gave us the champion of free speech and tolerance, Voltaire.
Je suis Charlie sentiment fades amid calls to tame free speech
Je suis Charlie. Two months after that phrase was used around the world to show solidarity with the victims of the January 7 attack against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, flowers are still left at the site of the killings on Rue Nicolas Appert in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. The street has reopened to…
Ban of India’s Daughter and other films silences debate on key issues
What do Delhi, Beijing, and Villiers-sur-Marne have in common, but Ouagadougou does not? The first three recently banned access to films their governments deemed inappropriate. But a film festival in the fourth, the capital of Burkina Faso in West Africa, is stepping up security to show an acclaimed but controversial movie about Islamic militancy in…
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, February 2015
First step toward better safety for freelancers News agencies, press freedom organizations, and advocacy groups came together this month to address mounting concerns over the hiring and safety of freelance journalists. While dangers to freelancers have always been present, last year international journalists made up nearly a quarter of journalists killed, about double the proportion…
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, January 2015
Putting Charlie Hebdo in context When masked gunmen raided the office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on January 7, killing 12 people including eight journalists, the media turned to the Committee to Protect Journalists to put the attack in context and comment on the repercussions for press freedom worldwide. CPJ’s experts and directors gave…
After Charlie Hebdo attack, vigils, protests and publishing bans
Protests against the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo were held in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East and parts of Africa over the weekend, as crowds demonstrated against the magazine’s portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad, according to news reports.