Television coverage of Jean Luc Mélenchon's political rally on February 13, 2022: response to the plaintiffs

Arcom has been alerted to the media coverage given by TF1, France 2, BFM TV, CNews, franceinfo: and LCI to the political rally organized on Sunday February 13, 2022 in support of Jean-Luc Mélenchon's candidacy in the presidential election.

It recalled that the choice of subjects covered in the news programmes of television and radio services is a matter for the editorial freedom of the managers, which is exercised, in particular, in compliance with the principle of plurality of currents of thought and opinion.

Arcom's notice of October 6, 2021 makes provision for " publishers to ensure that, from January 1 to March 7, 2022 , declared or presumed candidates and their supporters benefit from fair presentation and access to the airwaves ". However, as compliance with the principle of fairness is established over the whole of this period, and across all programs, the decision to give priority to a particular news item for a given period of time cannot be construed as a breach of the principle of fairness on the part of the publishers concerned.

Consequently, the Autorité did not take any action against the service editors concerned.