Deliberation of January 4, 2011 on the principle of political plurality in radio and television services during election periods

Deliberation no. 2011-1 of January 4, 2011 on the principle of political plurality in radio and television services during election periods (Journal officiel of February 1, 2011)

modified by :

Deliberation no. 2011-55 of November 22, 2011 (Official Journal of December 8, 2011)

The French Superior Audiovisual Council,

Having regard to the Electoral Code ;

Having regard to Act no. 62-1292 of November 6, 1962, as amended, on the election of the President of the Republic by universal suffrage;

Having regard to Act no. 77-729 of July 7, 1977, as amended, relating to the election of representatives to the European Parliament;

Having regard to Act no. 77-808 of July 19, 1977, as amended, relating to the publication and diffusion of certain opinion polls, in particular article 11;

Having regard to Act no. 82-652 of July 29, 1982 on audiovisual communication, in particular article 6;

Having regard to Law no. 86-1067 of September 30, 1986, as amended, on freedom of communication, in particular articles 1, 13, 14 and 16;

Having regard to law n° 2005-102 of February 11, 2005 for equal rights and opportunities, participation and citizenship of disabled people;

Having regard to Council deliberation no. 2009-60 of July 21, 2009 relating to the principle of political plurality in radio and television services;

After deliberation,

Resolves:

Article 1
Unless expressly provided otherwise in the specific recommendations for each election, the provisions of this notice apply to all elections governed by the aforementioned laws.

Article 2
Providers of radio and television services shall respect the principle of plurality, in accordance with the terms set out below, during the six weeks preceding polling day, with the exception of by-elections for which this period is reduced to the official campaign period:

I. - News coverage

I-1. Election-related news

1° When dealing with a specific electoral district, broadcasters ensure that candidates or lists of candidates, personalities or the political parties and groupings that support them benefit from fair presentation and access to the airwaves.
2° When election coverage extends beyond a given electoral district, broadcasters must ensure that political parties and groupings presenting candidates and their supporters have fair presentation and access to the airwaves.
3° In accordance with the jurisprudence of the Conseil d'Etat, any speeches by the President of the Republic which, by virtue of their content and context, fall within the scope of the political debate linked to the elections, in particular those involving the expression of support for a candidate or list of candidates, a political party or grouping, are the subject of a separate statement. Publishers take this into account, ensuring that other candidates, lists, political parties or groupings are given fair access to the airwaves in return.
4° Election reports, commentaries and presentations must be presented with a constant concern for moderation and honesty. Editors must also ensure that the choice of extracts from the statements and writings of candidates and their supporters, and the comments to which they may give rise, do not distort the general meaning.
5° Television service editors must systematically indicate the origin of images when they do not come from the editor himself.
6° Publishers must ensure that the use of audiovisual archives containing images or words by public figures :
- does not give rise to editing or use likely to distort the original meaning of the document;
- is systematically accompanied by an indication of its source and date.

I-2. News not related to the election

1° For news coverage not related to the election, publishers continue to apply the aforementioned decision of July 21, 2009.
2° Invitations to candidates must be related to current events. Furthermore, editors will refrain from diffusing any cultural event featuring a personality who is also a candidate.

II. - Other obligations

1° Publishers shall provide the French Superior Audiovisual Council, at its request, with all information relating to the speaking times of candidates and their supporters.
2° Publishers shall provide the French Superior Audiovisual Council, at its request, with all information required, in particular for the investigation of submissions of a case before the court.
3° Until the opening date of the official campaign, employees of publishers who are candidates must ensure that any on-air or on-screen interventions they make do not have any impact that could undermine the equality of candidates with regard to propaganda means and the fairness of the ballot.
They shall refrain from appearing on air or expressing themselves on the airwaves in the exercise of their duties from the opening of the official campaign until the close of the ballot.

III. - Program accessibility for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

In accordance with article 74 of the aforementioned law of February 11, 2005, television service editors whose average annual audience exceeds 2.5% of the total audience are required to provide access, by subtitling or sign language, for deaf or hard-of-hearing people to all programs devoted to electoral news.
Other television service editors are required to provide access, via subtitling or sign language, for deaf or hard-of-hearing people to the main programs devoted to election news at peak times, and in particular to make available the broadcasting of debates between candidates.

IV. - Reminder of legal obligations

IV-1. Advertising

1° In accordance with article 14 of the aforementioned law of September 30, 1986, television and radio advertising programs of a political nature are prohibited.
2° Publishers must ensure that, in the case of press advertising, they do not show advertising messages likely to distort the sincerity of the vote. Such messages may include verbal or visual references to candidates or election challenges.
3° Providers of radio services and publishers of television services distributed by networks that do not use frequencies summonsed by the French Superior Audiovisual Council shall ensure that they do not show advertisements for literary works whose authors are directly concerned by the election or whose titles or content are linked to the challenges of the election.

IV-2. Electoral propaganda

1° In accordance with the second paragraph of Article L. 49 of the French Electoral Code, from midnight on the eve of the ballot, it is forbidden to diffuse or have diffused by any means of communication to the public by electronic means any message having the character of electoral propaganda.
2° In accordance with article L. 52-1 of the French Electoral Code, the use of any commercial advertising process by any means of audiovisual communication for electioneering purposes is prohibited for six months prior to the first day of the month of the election, and no campaign to promote the achievements or management of a local authority may be organized within the territory of the local authorities concerned by the election from the first day of the sixth month prior to the election.
3° In accordance with article L. 52-2 of the French Electoral Code, no election results, partial or final, may be communicated to the public by any means of electronic public communication in mainland France before the shutdown of the last polling station in mainland France. The same applies in overseas France before the shutdown of the last polling station in each of the departments and collectivities concerned.
Radio and television services shall refrain from diffusing any information likely to give an indication of the outcome of the ballot before the closing of the last polling station.
Television services dealing with electoral news on polling day are required, no later than five minutes before the closing of the last polling station, to show the time on screen to the nearest second.

IV-3. Polls

In accordance with article 11 of the aforementioned law of July 19, 1977, the diffusion and commentary of any poll directly or indirectly related to the consultation are prohibited by any means on the eve and day of the poll.

IV-4. Right of reply

In accordance with article 6 of the aforementioned law of July 29, 1982, television and radio services are obliged, where appropriate, to implement the right of reply.

IV-5. Jurisprudence of the election judge

Publishers are required to comply with the principles set out in the jurisprudence of the courts relating to elections. In particular, they must not show any defamatory, insulting or misleading statements, or any new elements of electoral controversy, on a date or under conditions that make a response impossible or ineffective.

V. - Exception to the principle of political plurality during election periods

The present ruling does not apply to radio and television services whose specific content is election propaganda for candidates, lists of candidates, political parties and groupings or their supporters, and which are exclusively accessible via online public communications.

Article 3
Notice no. 98-2 of September 1, 1998 concerning by-elections is abrogated.
In accordance with the second paragraph of article 16 of the aforementioned law of September 30, 1986, the Council will issue additional notices to publishers in the event of general elections.

Article 4
The present decision applies to Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia and New Caledonia.

Article 5
The present resolution will be published in the Journal officiel de la République française.

Paris, January 4, 2011.
For the French Superior Audiovisual Council :
Le président,
M. Boyon