For Jean Viard, “Freedom of the press is one of the bases of democracy, it cannot be negotiated, it is like women’s rights”

What happened this week to Ariane Lavrilleux is unusual, to say the least, for a journalist. Investigative journalist for Mediapart, Complément d’investigation and Disclosure, she spent nearly 40 hours in police custody, her home was searched, after notably revealing, at the end of 2021, a possible hijacking by Egypt of a French intelligence operation. She had obtained and published so-called “secret defense” documents. The General Directorate of Internal Security feared that these documents could identify an agent. This raises the question of press freedom. Decryption with sociologist Jean Viard.

franceinfo: Where does defense secrecy end, what does this action of non-respect for press freedom mean?

Jean Viard: I believe this is not a small subject. I obviously don’t know this file any more than what we’ve seen in the press. But I think that freedom of the press is one of the bases of democracy, it cannot be negotiated, it is like women’s rights. There are always possible setbacks. There, somewhere, there is not only the fact of having questioned her, the fact of having, at her home, emptied her computers and her telephones, to steal all her sources, and then that of treating her like a delinquent , make her wait all night, as if she had attacked a bank…

So, there is really an attempt at intimidation which is unacceptable in a democracy. You have to say things as they are because otherwise there are no limits. The resources of journalists must be absolutely guaranteed, it is essential. So afterward, in our digital societies, it’s true that there is a whole debate. Look at everything we’ve released about the banks, whole lists of people who were hiding money in Switzerland, etc. We released lots of elements in the United States inside the systems.

So that defense secrecy is a real subject, but it must be used wisely, and that there is a right to say that when we are at war for example, with radical Islamist movements in India, in the Middle -East, we can very well understand that not everything must be said to protect our systems and our agents. But here, I have the impression that there is confusion of genres. There is an attempt at intimidation. Moreover, she was released without charge. So it’s really: we’re trying to scare you, and then go home, there’s nothing to see, but still, don’t forget that you spent the night at the station. I find that it is still borderline, compared to democratic principles.

There should be limits to what this or that media outlet can publish. Should the most sensitive information be kept silent?

I cannot set the limits of the law, but I, as a sociologist, tend to think that it is the press, and moreover, that is why there are so many journalists on the planet who are killed to defend this right of the press, there is Reporters Without Borders which does a fantastic job. This is a fundamental element of democracy, for me as a sociologist, this is what I can talk about and say effectively; It bothers the powers that be sometimes, of course, because they will shed light on things that we prefer not to see. This is also true in some surveys of large companies.

But what these journalists do is to bring out hidden information, generally hidden because it is not very appropriate, whether for business or for politics. And we can’t sue them for that. I believe that this is what we must remember and that on this matter, we must take the opportunity to recall the principles, recall the values, and say that in fact those in power have no right to attack the press. I believe it is a foundation, an essential foundation.

And something to remember regularly, or else, it’s really the times: there has been a deterioration in press freedom in recent years…

It depends on the periods. I think that during the Algerian war, it wasn’t great either. During the war, we don’t talk about it, so there are moments of tension. And then there are also new sources with the Internet which means that at once, you empty all the files from a bank, there are also new discovery tools.

We are, I think, in a period where there are undoubtedly people in the police, even in the justice system, who want to mark the balance of power with the press. That’s how it should be understood. Afterwards, let’s not think that it was the Élysée which decided that this particular journalist had to spend the night at the station. I don’t think we’re there yet, but I think that there are indeed power struggles between justice, the police, the press and politics, and that’s not a good thing.