Decision of 10 June 2026 giving formal notice to the national programme company Radio France

The French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication,

Having regard to Act 86-1067 of 30 September 1986, as amended, on freedom of communication, and in particular Articles 1, 3-1, 13 and 48-1 thereof

Having regard to the Decree of 13 November 1987, as amended, approving the terms of reference and obligations of Radio France, in particular Article 4 ;

Having regard to deliberation no. 2017-62 of 22 November 2017 on the principle of political plurality in radio and television services;

Having regard to the letters of 21 September and 6 December 2023, 29 October 2025 and 27 February 2026 sent to Radio France concerning compliance with the principle of political plurality in the second and third quarters of 2023 and the second and fourth quarters of 2025;

Having regard to the record of speaking time by political figures shown on the "France Inter" and "France Info" radio services from 1 January to 31 March 2026;

Considering the following:

On the legal manager

1. Firstly, pursuant to Article 1 of the Law of 30 September 1986, the exercise of freedom of communication to the public by electronic means may be restricted only to the extent required, in particular, by respect for the pluralist nature of the expression of schools of thought and opinion. Article 13 of the same law makes provision for: "the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication shall ensure respect for the plurality of expression of schools of thought and opinion in the programmes of radio and television services, in particular for political and general news programmes".

2. Secondly, it follows from Article 4 of its mission statement that Radio France ensures the pluralist expression of schools of thought and opinion in accordance with the principle of equal treatment and the notices issued by the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication.

3. Thirdly, pursuant to Article 1 of the deliberation of 22 November 2017, the cumulative speaking time of the President of the Republic in the national political debate, his aides and the members of the Government must correspond to one third of the total speaking time, and the political parties and groupings expressing the major orientations of national political life must receive equitable speaking time with regard to the elements of their representativeness and their contribution to leading the national political debate. Pursuant to Article 3 of this decision, the Authority will assess compliance with the principle of political plurality in all programmes on a quarterly basis.

4. In its decision Société d'exploitation d'un service d'information of 13 January 2023 (no. 462663), the Conseil d'Etat ruled that it follows from the very purpose of these schemes, which are designed to ensure that the various currents of opinion are fairly shown in order to contribute to the formation of viewers' and listeners' opinions, and thus contribute to debate and democratic expression, that the obligations they lay down cannot be regarded as having been complied with without taking account of the times and conditions of diffusion of programmes featuring speeches by political figures. It deduced from this that, without committing an error of law, the Regulatory Authority "considered that the obligations arising from the Act of 30 September 1986 and the decision of 22 November 2017 could not be abided by if the speeches made by the President of the Republic, his aides and members of the Government, on the one hand, or by the representatives of one of the political parties and groupings that express the main thrust of national political life, on the other, are essentially shown during night-time programmes, at times when the audience is very small".

5. In a letter dated 29 October 2025 relating to the review of the principle of political plurality during the second quarter of 2025, the AMF noted that a significant proportion of the speaking time of the Rassemblement National on France Info was devoted to night-time broadcasts and summoned the publisher's attention to the need to ensure better application of the principle of political plurality on this channel. Having made the same observation about the "France Info" and "France Inter" services during its review of compliance with the principle of political plurality during the fourth quarter of 2025, by letter dated 27 February 2026 the Authority firmly requested the editor to apply this principle more effectively on these two channels.

6. Lastly, under the provisions of Article 48-1 of the Act of 30 September 1986, the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication may give formal notice to the national programme company Radio France to abide by the obligations imposed on it by the legislative and regulatory texts and by the principles defined in Articles 1 and 3-1 of that Act.

Analysis

7. Records of the speaking time of political figures broadcast on the radio services France Inter and France Info between 1 January and 31 March 2026 show that the speeches of the representatives of the Rassemblement National were mostly shown in programmes scheduled between midnight and 5.59 a.m. Nearly 60% of the total speaking time of the members of this political grouping was thus shown during this segment on "France Inter" radio. This proportion exceeded 70% for the "France Info" service. The same data show that members of the Rassemblement National were underrepresented in programmes shown during the day, between 6 a.m. and 11.59 p.m., accounting for approximately 9% of all political contributions on France Inter and 9.5% on France Info. As a result, during the period under consideration, the speaking time of the representatives of this political grouping was mainly shown in night-time programmes, at times when the audience is very low on the "France Inter" and "France Info" services.

8. All of the facts mentioned in the previous point characterise breaches by the publisher of the obligations imposed on it by Article 1 of the decision of 22 November 2017 and Article 4 of its missions and obligations for the first quarter of 2026. Radio France should therefore be given formal notice to comply in future, as regards the 'France Inter' and 'France Info' services, with Article 1 of the decision of 22 November 2017, as explained in point 4 of this decision, and with Article 4 of its schedule of conditions and obligations.

After deliberation,

Decides:

Art. 1. -The société nationale de programme Radio France is hereby given formal notice to comply, in future, with regard to the "France Inter" and "France Info" radio services, with the provisions of Article 1 of the decision of 22 November 2017 as explained in point 4 of this decision and of Article 4 of its mission statement and specifications, by ensuring compliance with the principle of political plurality in its programmes.

Art. 2 - This decision will be notified to the société nationale de programme Radio France and published in the Journal officiel de la République française.

Paris, 10 June 2026

For the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication

The Chairman

M. AJDARI