Emmanuel Macron’s campaign promise, in 2022, these States General will last until the summer of 2024. They will result in proposals for legislative modifications as well as recommendations to the sector.
This is a campaign promise from Emmanuel Macron in 2022: the general information statements are finally launched on Tuesday October 3. At a time of distrust in the media, the objective set is to guarantee the right to reliable information for everyone.
1 Who is affected by these states general?
The subject does not only concern journalists, on the contrary, all citizens are concerned because if there is a right to inform, the right to be informed is just as essential. For information to remain free and independent, and therefore for the French to regain confidence in the media, everything must be overhauled.
These general meetings will be an opportunity to listen to the expectations of citizens, a grand tour of France will be organized, everyone will be able to express themselves and feed into the conclusions that the steering committee will make, no later than June 2024. The French are called to make proposals during an online consultation open until November 12, accessible via the etats-generaux-information.fr website.
In addition to this citizen participation, the States General want to involve professionals, who will be able to formulate their proposals. Auditions will be organized. In a joint press release, four journalists’ unions (SNJ, SNJ-CGT, CFDT and FO) however said “fear that these states general will only amount to a new communication operation”by demanding to be associated with it.
2 Who makes up the steering committee for these states general?
This independent committee is made up of five members. Its president is Bruno Lasserre, of the Commission for Access to Administrative Documents (Cada). The secretary general of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Christophe Deloire is, for his part, general delegate of the steering committee. There is also a former vice-president of the Council of State, a director of La Poste, a researcher and a general financial inspector. All will work in conjunction with Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021.
These states general must lead to “concrete proposals” For “guarantee the right to information in the digital age”, hoped Christophe Deloire during the launch press conference in Paris. There will be recommendations and proposals for legislative, fiscal and budgetary measures. “We will propose” but it will be “in the political power to decide”, added committee president Bruno Lasserre. According to him, it is a question of registering in the “long time”what “will perhaps arouse impatience”.
3 What themes will be covered?
The perimeter is very wide. First, there is the fight against disinformation and fake news. The reliability of information is a major issue at a time when young people are flocking to social networks. The Reuters Institute has just published a global study which shows that 20% of 18-24 year olds get their news via TikTok. In France, the latest Kantar-La Croix barometer, published in January, revealed that these platforms were the second daily source of information for young adults, just after television news. Technological upheavals will also be at the heart of these general states of information. The emergence of artificial intelligence arouses both fascination and concern in the media sector.
Another problem is the control of big money over the media. Bolloré, Drahi, Lagardère, Dassault, Arnault, Kretinsky, Niel, Saadé, a few billionaires own a string of daily newspapers, television channels and radio stations. “If the government could push a bill that would require shareholders to seek the opinion of editorial staff before appointing an editorial director, I think that would be a notable step forward.”explained Louis Dreyfus, chairman of the group’s management board. The world on franceinfo.
Because if the investment of these great fortunes ensures the financial sustainability of companies, in return there is a risk of interference in the editorial line. It was also the fear of the employees of the Sunday Newspaperwho went on strike for 40 days this summer to protest (in vain) against the arrival at the head of the editorial staff of Geoffroy Lejeune, formerly of Current values.