Notice for the legislative elections of June 9 and 16, 2002

Having regard to the electoral code and in particular articles L.49 paragraph 2, L.52-1 and L.52-2 ;
Having regard to organic law n°2001-419 of May 15, 2001 ;
Having regard to law no. 77-808 of July 19, 1977, as amended, and in particular article 11 ;
Having regard to Act no. 86-1067 of September 30, 1986 as amended relating to freedom of communication, in particular articles 1, 13, 14 and 16;
After deliberation,
the French Superior Audiovisual Council hereby issues the following notice to all television and radio services, effective May 7, 2002 inclusive.

I - Election-related news

1° When dealing with a given electoral district, television and radio services shall ensure that the various candidates and the personalities supporting them enjoy fair presentation and access to the airwaves from May 7 to June 7, 2002 inclusive for the first round, and from June 10 to 14, 2002 inclusive for the second round. These services report on all candidacies.

2° When the coverage of these elections goes beyond the framework of a constituency, television and radio services ensure that the various political forces presenting candidates benefit from equitable presentation and access to the airwaves from May 7 to June 7, 2002 inclusive for the first round and from June 10 to 14, 2002 inclusive for the second round.

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 candidates' statements and writings, those of representatives of political forces, and the comments to which they may give rise, do not distort the general meaning.

4° With regard to news programmes or specials, the Council demands that departments pay close attention to their invitation policy to ensure compliance with the principles set out in 1° and 2° above.

5° In news programmes other than information, 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 legislative elections

With regard to the coverage of such news, television and radio services must respect a balance between the time devoted to government members, 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 groups not represented in Parliament are given a fair amount of airtime.
Television and radio 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 - Speaking notes

To ensure compliance with the above-mentioned principles :

1° For the national terrestrial channels TF1, France 2, France 3 (national program), Canal Plus (for free-to-air programs) and M6 (national program), the French Superior Audiovisual Council will draw up a breakdown of the time devoted to the various political parties and groupings and their supporters.

2° Statements of speeches by representatives of political parties and groupings and their supporters will be forwarded to the French Superior Audiovisual Council in accordance with the instructions given to them by :
La Cinquième, LCI, Euronews, i-Télévision, France Inter, France Info, RTL, Europe 1, RMC Info, BFM, Radio Classique.

3° In addition, all television and radio services, including local radio stations broadcast over the air or by cable, must be able to provide the French Superior Audiovisual Council, at its request, with all the information required, in particular for the investigation of submissions of a case before the court (speaking time, audio and visual tapes, etc.).

IV - Other schemes

1° Until the opening date of the official election campaign, employees of all television and radio services who are candidates shall ensure that any on-air or on-screen interventions they make do not have any electoral impact likely to undermine the equality of candidates with regard to propaganda means and thus the fairness of the ballot.
These same employees must refrain from appearing on the air or speaking on the air in the exercise of their duties from the opening of the official campaign on Monday May 20 until the day on which the election is won in the constituency in which they were candidates.

2° Television and radio services shall ensure that any use made 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 the source and date.

3° Direct expression programming is suspended from May 6 to June 16, 2002 inclusive.

4° 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.
It should be remembered that massive support for one or more candidates or for a political party, which could be analyzed as the provision of airtime for electoral propaganda purposes, could be likely to distort the sincerity of the ballot and therefore lead to its cancellation. Furthermore, such broadcasts could be considered as assistance in kind provided to candidates by an artificial person (prohibited by article L.52-8 of the French Electoral Code), and therefore lead to the rejection of these candidates' campaign accounts.

5° Please note that :
- Article 14 of the law of September 30, 1986, as amended, prohibits television or radio advertising of a political nature;
- Article L.52-1, second paragraph, of the French Electoral Code stipulates that: "From the first day of the sixth month preceding the month in which general elections are to be held, 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. Without prejudice to the provisions of the present chapter, this prohibition does not apply to the presentation, by or on behalf of a candidate, as part of the organization of his or her campaign, of the results of the management of the mandates he or she holds or has held. The related expenses are subject to the provisions relating to the financing and capping of election expenses contained in chapter V bis of the present title";
- Article L.49, paragraph 2, of the Electoral Code stipulates that: "As of 0.00 a.m. on the eve of the ballot, it is forbidden to show or have shown, by any means of audiovisual communication, any message having the character of electoral propaganda";
- Article L.52-2 of the French Electoral Code stipulates that: "In the case of general elections, no election results, whether partial or definitive, may be communicated to the public by the press or by any means of audiovisual 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 concerned;
- Article 11 of the amended July 19, 1977 law stipulates that: "The day before and on the day of each round of voting is prohibited, by any means whatsoever, the publication, diffusion and commentary of any poll as defined in article 1. This prohibition also applies to polls published, broadcast or commented on before the eve of each round of voting. It does not prevent the continued diffusion of publications published or data put online before that date;
- audiovisuel communication services are obliged to implement, where appropriate, the right of reply instituted by article 6 of the law of July 29, 1982, and maintained in force by the aforementioned amended law of September 30, 1986.