Decision of March 8, 2023 giving formal notice to La Chaîne Info

The French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication,

Having regard to Act no. 86-1067 of 30 September 1986 on freedom of communication, in particular articles 1, 3-1, 28 and 42;

Having regard to decision no. 2003-316 of June 10, 2003, as amended and extended, authorizing La Chaîne Info to use a radioelectric resource to operate a national digital terrestrial television service, as extended by decision no. 2019-215 of May 20, 2019;

Having regard to the agreement entered into between the French Superior Audiovisual Council and La Chaîne Info on May 29, 2019, concerning the "LCI" television service, in particular articles 2-3-7 and 4-2-1 ;

Having regard to deliberation no. 2018-11 of April 18, 2018 of the French Superior Audiovisual Council relating to the honesty and independence of news and the programs that contribute to it, in particular article 1;

Having regard to the broadcast report on the program "Un œil sur le monde" shown on the "LCI" service on September 5, 2022;

Vu le compte rendu de visionnage de l'émission " 24h Pujadas " diffusée sur le service " LCI " le 12 septembre 2022 ;

Considering the following:

On the legal manager:

1. Firstly, by virtue of the provisions of article 42 of law no. 86-1067 of September 30, 1986 and the stipulations of article 4-2-1 of the agreement of May 29, 2019, the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication may give formal notice to La Chaîne Info to abide by the obligations imposed on it.

2. Secondly, under the provisions of the third paragraph of article 3-1 of the law of September 30, 1986, "the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication guarantees the honesty, independence and plurality of news and the programs that contribute to it, subject to article 1 of [this] law" affirming the principle of freedom of communication to the public by electronic means. On this basis, article 1 of the deliberation of April 18, 2018 stipulates that the publisher "must ensure the honesty of the information and programs that contribute to it / [...] / He must demonstrate rigor in the presentation and processing of information". Finally, article 2-3-7 of the May 29, 2019 agreement stipulates that: "The requirement of honesty applies to all programs. The publisher respects the deliberation of the French Superior Audiovisual Council on the honesty and independence of news and the programs that contribute to it."

On the program "Un œil sur le monde" shown on September 5, 2022:

3. According to the broadcast report on the news programme "Un œil sur le monde" on September 5, 2022, a segment on misinformation in the Russian media was presented. During this segment, a documentary on Russian television "Rossiya One" was discussed, focusing on the difficulties Europeans were experiencing with their energy supplies. The documentary reported on protests in Paris on Saturday, September 3, 2022, calling into question the effectiveness of economic sanctions against Russia. Footage of a demonstration in Paris, taken from this documentary, was shown. Back on set, the LCI presenter declared: "Et voilà. And there was no demonstration this weekend, that's not true at all. [...] We're right in the middle of heu .... Russian propaganda, with the Russian people." A journalist then added: "Yes, to make them believe that Europe is indeed dividing, according to Vladimir Putin's calculations, so it's true that, we can see the way they hijack images, put their own subtitles on them to hammer home the message that everything is going according to plan, in fact. That's what they say on official TV. What strikes me is what happened this weekend, because we can see that, in Europe, obviously, it has nothing to do with the bogus montages on Russian TV, but we can feel that public opinion is cracking a little.

4. Contrary to what was asserted on LCI, a demonstration against the European legal sanctions against Russia did take place in Paris on Saturday September 3, 2022. Consequently, the publisher did not comply with its obligation of honesty and rigor in the presentation and processing of information, thereby breaching the provisions of article 1 of the aforementioned deliberation of April 18, 2018, to which the stipulations of article 2-3-7 of its aforementioned agreement refer.

On the "24h Pujadas" program shown on September 12, 2022:

5. According to the record of the broadcast of the "24h Pujadas" news programme on September 12, 2022, a segment entitled "Allocations versus work: the truth behind the figures" was shown, during which an infographic was presented comparing the income of a couple with two dependent children, each earning the minimum growth wage (SMIC), and that of a non-working couple in the same family situation. According to this infographic, the employed couple would earn 2858 euros per month, while the non-working couple would benefit from 2902 euros per month, including 1824 euros in back-to-work assistance (ARE), 688 euros in active solidarity income (RSA) and 390 euros in personalized housing assistance (APL).

6. However, the ARE and the RSA can only be combined if the household income is less than the flat-rate RSA amount, i.e. 1256.94 euros for a couple with two children. The infographic shown was therefore incorrect, and it could not be deduced from it that the unemployed couple would benefit from a higher monthly income than the working couple. As a result, the publisher failed to comply with its obligation of honesty and rigor in the presentation and processing of information, disregarding the provisions of article 1 of the aforementioned deliberation of April 18, 2018, to which the stipulations of article 2-3-7 of its aforementioned agreement refer.

7. It follows from the foregoing that La Chaîne Info should be given formal notice to comply, in the future, with the aforementioned stipulations of article 2-3-7 of the aforementioned May 29, 2019 agreement, as well as with the aforementioned provisions of article 1 of the aforementioned deliberation of April 18, 2018.

After deliberation,

Decides :

Art. 1. - La Chaîne Info is hereby given formal notice to comply, in the future, with regard to the "LCI" television service, with the aforementioned stipulations of article 2-3-7 of its agreement dated May 29, 2019 as well as with the aforementioned provisions of article 1 of deliberation no. 2018-11 of April 18, 2018 of the French Superior Audiovisual Council relating to the honesty and independence of news and the programs that contribute to it.

Art. 2 - The present decision will be notified to La Chaîne Info and published in the Journal officiel de la République française.

Done in Paris,

March 8, 2023.

For the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication :

Le président,

R.-O. MAISTRE