Notice for the presidential elections of April 21 and May 5, 2002

Preamble
The French Superior Audiovisual Council reminds all radio and television services that, until December 31, 2001, they must respect a balance between the speaking time of members of the government, personalities belonging to the parliamentary majority and personalities belonging to the parliamentary opposition, and ensure comparable programming conditions. Publishers must also ensure that personalities from political parties not represented in Parliament are given a fair amount of airtime.
Barring exceptions justified by current events, the speaking time of members of the parliamentary opposition may not be less than half the combined speaking time of members of the government and members of the parliamentary majority.
Radio and television services with local or regional programs ensure coverage of local or regional news, taking into account local or regional political balance.

The French Superior Audiovisual Council has issued the following notice to all television and radio services, which will apply from January 1, 2002 until the end of the presidential election campaign.

I - For the period from January 1, 2002 to the eve of the opening of the official campaign for the first round of voting
Official campaigning for the election of the President of the French Republic begins on the day of publication of the list of candidates in the Journal officiel de la République française, which must take place no later than the third Friday before polling day for the first round and the second Friday before polling day for the second round.
During this period, electoral interventions (A) are to be distinguished from other interventions (B).

A - Concerning interventions by declared or presumed candidates and interventions in support of their candidacy

1°) General principles

a) The notion of candidate
The notion of "candidate" is not defined by any text until the date of publication of the official list of candidates by the Constitutional Council. Until that date, the French Superior Audiovisual Council understands declared or presumed candidates to mean, on the one hand, people who have publicly stated their intention to run in this election, even if subject to conditions, and in particular by making their candidacy conditional on the approval of a political party and, on the other hand, any person who gathers support for his or her candidacy.

b) Interventions by declared or presumed candidates holding official positions
The Conseil considers these to be communications of an electoral nature, with the exception of statements made in the course of official duties. The latter are nonetheless counted under the candidate's heading if they contribute to an assessment of past action or set out the elements of a program.
This breakdown also applies to persons supporting a candidate.

c) On-air access and presentation
Radio and television services shall ensure fair on-air presentation and access for declared or presumed candidates and their supporters.
The reports, comments and presentations to which the election gives rise must be presented by the editorial staff with a constant concern for balance and honesty. They must also ensure that the choice of extracts from candidates' statements and writings, and the comments to which they may give rise, do not distort the general meaning.

2°) For the application of the principles set out above, the French Superior Audiovisual Council demands that television and radio services observe the following provisions:

a) With regard to daily news or news programmes
Equal access to the airwaves for declared or presumed candidates and their supporters must be ensured under comparable programming conditions. This fairness must be respected firstly during the month of January, then during the month of February, and finally from March 1 to the eve of the opening of the official campaign.

b) For magazine or news programmes
The French Superior Audiovisual Council requests that television services pay close attention to their policy of inviting declared or presumed candidates and their supporters to these programs, in order to achieve fairness over the entire period from January 1, 2002 to the eve of the opening of the official campaign.

c) With regard to the other programs on the schedule
The Council considers that interventions by declared or presumed candidates or by supporters should be avoided if the general principles mentioned above cannot be respected.

3°) Statements by declared or presumed candidates and those supporting them

To ensure compliance with the above-mentioned principles :

a) 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 tally of the time devoted to declared or presumed candidates and their supporters.

b) Statements of the interventions of declared or presumed candidates and their supporters will be forwarded to the French Superior Audiovisual Council in accordance with the instructions given to them by :
- RFO, France 3, M6, Radio France for their regional and local programs,
- local television stations in mainland and overseas France,
- La Cinquième, TV5, LCI, Euronews, i>Télévision, France Inter, France Info, RTL, Europe 1, RMC Info, BFM, Radio Classique.

c) In addition, all radio and television services must be able to provide the French Superior Audiovisual Council, at its request, with all the information required, in particular for the investigation of any submissions of a case before the court (speaking time, audio and visual tapes, etc.).

B - Concerning other interventions

The principles set out in the introductory remarks to this notice apply.

II - From the opening of the official campaign to the date of the ballot in which the election is won

A - Application of the principle of equality between candidates

1°) The principle of equality between candidates

a) Article 15 of decree no. 2001-213 of March 8, 2001
According to article 15 of decree no. 2001-213 of March 8, 2001 implementing law no. 62-1299 of November 6, 1962 relating to the election of the President of the Republic by universal suffrage: "As from the publication in the Journal officiel of the list of candidates and until the ballot in which the election is won, the principle of equality between candidates must be abided by in the news programmes of national programme companies and authorized or licensed audiovisual communication services with regard to the reproduction or commentary of candidates' statements and writings and the presentation of their person".

b) Interventions by candidates invested with official functions
The Conseil considers these to be election-related communications, with the exception of statements made in the course of official duties. The latter are nonetheless counted under the candidate's heading if they contribute to an assessment of past action or set out the elements of a program.
This breakdown also applies to persons supporting a candidate.

c) On-air access and presentation
The above-mentioned principle of equality implies :
- equal time for candidates and their supporters;
- that the presentation of and comments on each candidate do not disadvantage any of them.
Departments ensure that the choice of extracts from candidates' statements and writings, and the comments to which they may give rise, do not distort their general meaning.

2°) For the application of the principles set out above, the French Superior Audiovisual Council demands that television and radio services comply with the following provisions:

a) With regard to daily news or news programmes
Equal access to the airwaves for candidates and their supporters must be ensured under comparable programming conditions. For the first round of voting, this equality must be respected throughout the official campaign. For the second ballot, it must be respected from the Monday following the first ballot to the following Sunday, and from Monday to midnight on the Friday preceding the second ballot.

b) For news programmes and specials
The French Superior Audiovisual Council requests that television and radio services pay particular attention to their policy of inviting candidates and their supporters to these programs, in order to achieve equality. For the first round of voting, this equality must be respected throughout the official campaign. For the second ballot, it must be respected from the Monday following the first ballot to the following Sunday, and from Monday to midnight on the Friday preceding the second ballot.

c) With regard to the other programs on the schedule
The Council considers that candidate or supporting interventions should be avoided if the above-mentioned principles cannot be respected.

3°) Recording of interventions by candidates and their supporters

To ensure compliance with the above-mentioned principles :

a) 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 tally of the time devoted to candidates and their supporters.

b) The French Superior Audiovisual Council will receive statements from candidates and their supporters in accordance with the instructions given to them by :
- RFO, France 3, M6, Radio France for their regional and local programs,
- local television stations in mainland and overseas France,
- La Cinquième, TV5, LCI, Euronews, i>Télévision, France Inter, France Info, RTL, Europe 1, RMC Info, BFM, Radio Classique.

c) In addition, all radio and television services must be able to provide the French Superior Audiovisual Council, at its request, with all the information required, in particular for the investigation of any submissions of a case before the court (speaking time, audio and visual tapes, etc.).

B - Concerning other interventions

The principles set out in the introductory remarks to this notice apply.

III - Other schemes

1°) Article 14 of the Act of September 30, 1986, as amended, prohibits radio and television advertising of a political nature.

2°) In accordance with article L.49, paragraph 2, of the French Electoral Code, as of 0.00 a.m. on the eve of the vote, it is forbidden to show or cause to be shown, by any means of audiovisual communication, any message having the character of electoral propaganda.

3°) Article L.52-1, second paragraph, of the French Electoral Code stipulates that: "as 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".

4°) In accordance with article L.52-2 of the French Electoral Code, no election results, whether 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 in overseas France before the last polling station in each of the departments concerned has shutdown.

5°) Article 11 of the amended law of July 19, 1977 relating to the publication and diffusion of certain opinion polls stipulates that the publication, 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. However, in a ruling handed down on September 4, 2001, the final court of appeal ruled that the provisions relating to this ban were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. Any criminal sentences handed down in application of this provision would be liable to annulment by the final court of appeal, and would therefore appear to have no bearing. Such a diffusion could, however, be considered by the Constitutional Council as likely to alter the sincerity of the ballot, with the electoral consequences that this could entail.

6°) Audiovisuel 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 amended law of September 30, 1986.

7°) Audiovisual communication services must 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.

8°) Programming of direct expression programs is suspended from January 1st until the date of the election.

9°) 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. With regard to opinion radio stations, it should be remembered that massive and exclusive support for a candidate, which could be analyzed as the provision of airtime for electioneering purposes, could be liable to distort the fairness of the ballot. Furthermore, such broadcasts could be considered as a contribution in kind made to the candidate by an artificial person (prohibited by article L.52-8 of the French Electoral Code), and therefore lead to the rejection of a candidate's campaign account.