Notice for the cantonal and municipal elections of March 11 and 18, 2001

Analysis of the main provisions of the notice
The notice sets out the conditions for news coverage not only during the official campaign period, but also in the weeks leading up to it, in order to provide citizens with comprehensive, plurality-based information on the challenges facing cantonal and municipal elections, with a view to the choices they will have to make on March 11 and 18.
The context does not necessarily make it easy to deal with these elections. Two elections are being held in the same period, with different constituencies, voting systems and challenges. What's more, while these elections, and in particular the municipal elections, are of a markedly local nature, they may also take on a more national dimension, as they precede the legislative and presidential elections... or presidential and legislative... the future will tell.
Experience has also shown that politicians pay close attention to the media coverage of their candidacies: there have already been a number of submissions of a case before the court, and this type of local election generally attracts a good number of complaints.

Period of application of the notice
The notice applies from January 1, 2001 until the second round of cantonal and municipal elections, i.e. March 18, 2001.
In choosing this period, the French Superior Audiovisual Council considered that it would be conducive to in-depth, plurality-based coverage of the election campaign.
With regard to the provisions applicable to news coverage, the Conseil distinguishes, as usual, between election-related news and non-election-related news.

Election-related news
For the sake of clarity, and as was already the case for the regional and cantonal elections of 1998, a distinction has been made according to whether the news coverage relates to a given constituency or goes beyond the constituency manager.
- Point 1 of paragraph I deals with electoral competition in the strict sense of the term, i.e. within the framework of a given constituency. For this reason, it refers exclusively to candidates or lists of candidates for whom fair presentation and access to the airwaves are demanded, in the knowledge that all candidacies should be reported, even if only by way of indication for some of them, and this regardless of the format of the program or sequence corresponding to the case in question.
To overlook this principle would be contrary to the notion of fairness demanded.
- Point 2, for its part, goes beyond the notion of constituency and refers to the overall treatment of the challenges associated with these elections. It concerns, for example, interventions by political party leaders who, without referring to a particular constituency, intervene on cantonal and municipal elections in general. In this case, the notion of candidates or lists is replaced by the notion of political forces presenting candidates or lists of candidates.
This notion of political forces covers not only political groupings as such, but also electoral coalitions, since in a large number of communes union lists have been or are in the process of being drawn up.
Paris, Lyon and Marseille are special cases in that they do not correspond to a single constituency. By virtue of their status, Paris and Lyon are subdivided into as many districts as there are arrondissements, while Marseille is divided into sectors.
The treatment of the electoral campaign in these three major cities will therefore lead the media to refer to point 2 of the notice, by balancing the treatment between the different political forces or coalitions presenting candidates in these cities. This will undoubtedly take the form of the on-air presence of the said candidates, insofar as the final stakes in the election primarily concern the personalities who have declared their candidacy for the post of mayor.
The notion of equity is to be distinguished from that of equality, which the electoral code makes provision for only during the official campaign period of the presidential election.
The French Superior Audiovisual Council invites media managers to base their assessment of the notion of fairness in particular on the representativeness of the candidates and the political forces involved, which can be assessed both nationally and locally in the light of the results of previous elections, the dynamics of the electoral campaign and related events (meetings, debates, forums).
It is important that all candidates and political forces have real access to the airwaves, and that no one is excluded on the pretext of being marginal.
The principle of fairness applies to the entire period, from January 1 to March 11 or 18. However, care must be taken to ensure fair treatment throughout this period, to avoid imbalances that would only be redressed in the final days before the vote.
The principle of fairness applies to all programs, newscasts, magazines, debates and other programs on the schedule. For the latter, it is preferable to avoid election-related interventions if the principle of fairness between candidates or political forces cannot be respected.

News not related to elections
By "non-election-related news" we mean all political interventions on subjects other than the election campaign, and which, whether national or international, have no direct or indirect connection with it.
As far as this news is concerned, we demand that you comply with the principle of pluralism outside elections defined by the French Superior Audiovisual Council at the beginning of 2000, which has replaced the three-thirds rule. Thus, radio and television services must respect a balance between the time spent by members of the government, personalities belonging to the parliamentary majority and personalities from the parliamentary opposition, and ensure comparable programming conditions. In addition, broadcasters must ensure that personalities from political parties not represented in Parliament are given a fair amount of airtime.
In the case of regional or local programs, local or regional television and radio stations, as well as national television and radio stations that have opting outs, must ensure coverage of regional or local news, taking into account regional or local political balance.
The last paragraph on this subject states: "For news not related to elections, the Council considers that it is preferable not to invite candidates, except in the case of imperative current events".
By this provision, the Council is aiming at audiovisual coverage of candidates who also hold official positions for which they may be solicited, or of candidates who are well-known and invited in this capacity to express their views on a given subject that is not part of the campaign.
The image effect that can result from this type of intervention is undeniable. In any case, it is not lost on candidates who find themselves pitted against such personalities in a constituency, and the bulk of the submissions of a case before the court to date have concerned challenges to the audiovisuel coverage granted to them.
Common sense must govern editorial choices in this area. If current events unrelated to the elections so require, political personalities such as members of the government or leaders of political parties, who are also candidates, may appear on air. In such cases, care must be taken to ensure that they do not discuss their own candidacy.
In this respect, in its observations on the 1997 legislative elections, the Constitutional Council stated: "With regard to the audiovisual coverage from which candidates with particular awareness may benefit, the attention given to them by audiovisual communication services must not distort election campaigns. The French Superior Audiovisual Council has issued notices to this effect. However, the Conseil Constitutionnel has noted that audiovisual communication services, including those in the public sector, sometimes cover the local candidacy of a personality, without having the reflex - however elementary - of giving the floor to his or her opponent(s) in return. In addition to being contrary to the principle of equal treatment of candidates and ethically questionable, such an attitude could have the effect, in the event of a narrow vote gap, of nullifying the election of the elected personality, making him or her the main victim. Generally speaking, the very strong influence of the media on opinion, especially in the run-up to an election, summons the electoral judge to be rigorous".

Conditions of application of the notice
With regard to the national terrestrial channels TF1, France 2, France 3, Canal+ and M6 for which the French Superior Audiovisual Council records airtime and speaking time, the Council will draw up and send to these channels summaries of election-related time at the following intervals:
. an initial assessment of airtime and speaking time will be drawn up for the period from Monday January 1 to Friday January 26 inclusive;
. a second report will cover the period from Saturday January 27 to Friday February 16 inclusive;
. further reviews will be drawn up on a weekly basis, from Saturday
February 17 to Friday February 23 inclusive, then from Saturday February 24 to Friday March 2 inclusive, then from Saturday March 3 to Friday March 9 inclusive, and finally from Monday March 12 to Friday March 16 inclusive.
Should any imbalances emerge, these will be reported to ensure that the principle of fairness is respected throughout the period. The reports will cover news broadcasts, magazines and other programs on the schedule.
In the case of other audiovisual media, the Conseil felt that it would be pointless to ask them to send regular reports which, in the case of municipal elections, would only be of interest if they were drawn up for each candidate.
Nevertheless, and this is point no. 1 of paragraph III entitled "Other obligations", radio and television services must be able to provide the Conseil, at its request and as soon as possible, with all the information necessary for the investigation of any submissions of a case before the court, in particular statements of speaking time by political figures and audio or visual tapes of the various broadcasts concerning the election campaign.
Each of these services must therefore be able to update and make available as quickly as possible the information needed to analyze the conditions of access and treatment of candidates on the airwaves.

Other provisions of the notice
There are a number of other provisions concerning the ethics of news reporting during the campaign period, which have traditionally been reiterated by the Conseil. However, we would like to highlight a few specific obligations or legal provisions:
- suspension, during the official campaign period, of on-air contributions by journalists or presenters who are candidates;
- under article L.49 paragraph 2 of the French Electoral Code, no message or intervention in the nature of electoral propaganda may be shown from midnight on the eve of the vote (i.e. Friday March 9 and 16);
- no poll results may be revealed during the week preceding the election, in application of article 11 of the amended law of July 19, 1977 on the publication and diffusion of certain opinion polls. Whatever one's opinion on whether or not this text is obsolete, the law on polls has not been abrogated, and therefore applies; In fact, this is what the Conseil d'Etat reiterated following a contentious appeal lodged during the European elections, specifying in its ruling that a change in a factual situation, namely the limits to the effective application of the law on opinion polls, cannot affect the obligation to enforce it;
- lastly, the French Superior Audiovisual Council points out that no election results, whether partial or definitive, may be shown before the last polling station in mainland France has shut down. It is the French Superior Audiovisual Council's intention that this rule be strictly observed by all.

The text of the notice

I - Election news

1°) When dealing with a given electoral district (canton for cantonal elections - commune, sector or arrondissement for municipal elections), television and radio services must ensure that candidates or lists of candidates, and the personalities supporting them, have fair presentation and access to the airwaves, by reporting on all candidacies.

2°) When the coverage of these elections goes beyond the framework of individual constituencies, television and radio services ensure that the various political forces presenting lists of candidates or candidates have fair presentation and access to the airwaves.

3°) The reports, comments and presentations to which these elections give rise must be presented by the editorial staff with a constant concern for balance and honesty. Editors must ensure that the choice of extracts from the statements and writings of candidates, representatives of lists or political groupings, as well as the comments to which they may give rise, do not distort the general meaning.

4°) With regard to magazine or special programs, the Council demands that departments pay close attention to their invitation policy to ensure compliance with the principles mentioned in 1° and 2° above.

5°) In news programmes other than news, the Council considers that election-related interventions should be avoided if the principles mentioned in 1° and 2° cannot be respected.

II- News not related to elections

With regard to the coverage of national and international news, radio and television services must respect a balance between the time devoted to members of the government, to personalities belonging to the parliamentary majority and to personalities belonging to the parliamentary opposition, and ensure comparable programming conditions. In addition, broadcasters must ensure that personalities belonging to political parties not represented in Parliament are given a fair amount of airtime.
Radio and television services with local or regional programs ensure coverage of local or regional news, taking into account local or regional political balance.
For news not related to elections, the Council considers that it is preferable not to invite candidates, except in the case of imperative current events.

III - Other obligations

1°) Transmission of information to the Board
Radio and television services must be able to provide the Conseil, at its request, with all the information necessary for the investigation of any submissions of a case before the court, in particular statements of speaking time by political figures and audio or visual tapes of various broadcasts concerning the election campaign.

2°) Special obligations
Until the opening date of the official electoral campaign, employees of all television and radio broadcasting services who are candidates must ensure that any on-air or on-screen interventions they make do not have any electoral impact that could undermine the equality of candidates in terms of propaganda means, and therefore the fairness of the ballot.
These same employees shall refrain from appearing on air or expressing themselves on air in the exercise of their duties from the opening of the official campaign until Sunday March 11, 2001, or Sunday March 18, 2001 in the event of participation in the second round of voting.
- Audiovisual communication services will ensure that any use made of audiovisual archives containing images or words of public figures :
- does not give rise to editing or use likely to distort the original meaning of the document;
- is systematically accompanied by the source and date.
- Direct expression programming is suspended for political organizations from January 1 to March 18, 2001 inclusive.
- The principles established by the jurisprudence of the election judge must be scrupulously respected.
In particular, the diffusion of defamatory, misleading or insulting statements, or those that introduce new elements of electoral controversy, on a date or under conditions that make a response impossible or ineffective, is likely to distort the sincerity of the ballot and therefore lead to its annulment. As far as opinion radio stations are concerned, it should be remembered that massive and exclusive support for a list or a candidate, which could be analyzed as the provision of airtime for electoral propaganda purposes, could be of such a nature as to distort the sincerity of the ballot and therefore lead to its annulment. In addition, the sums corresponding to the production of the broadcasts could be regarded as election expenses and as such included in the candidate's campaign account.

IV - Miscellaneous provisions

- Article 14 of the Act of September 30, 1986, as amended, prohibits political advertising on radio or television.
- Pursuant to article L.52-1, paragraph 2, of the Electoral Code, no advertising campaign promoting the achievements or management of a local authority may be organized within the territory of the local authorities concerned by the election.
- In accordance with article L.49, paragraph 2, of the French Electoral Code, from 0.00 a.m. on the eve of the ballot, it is forbidden to show or have shown, by any means of audiovisuel communication, any message having the character of electoral propaganda.
- In accordance with article L.52-2 of the French Electoral Code, no election results, partial or definitive, may be communicated to the public by any means of audiovisual communication before the shutdown of the last polling station in mainland France. The same applies to overseas France departments and territories and local authorities before the shutdown of the last polling station in each of the departments, territories and local authorities concerned.
- In accordance with article 11 of the amended law of July 19, 1977 on the publication and broadcasting of certain opinion polls, the diffusion and commentary of any poll directly or indirectly related to an election are prohibited by any means during the week preceding the election and during the election itself.
- Audiovisual communication services are obliged to implement, where appropriate, the right of reply instituted by article 6 of the law of July 29, 1982, maintained in force by the aforementioned amended law of September 30, 1986.