November 7, 2006 notice to all television and radio services for the presidential election

Having regard to Act no. 62-1292 of November 6, 1962, as amended, relating to the election of the President of the Republic by universal suffrage;
Having regard to the Electoral Code, and in particular articles L. 49, paragraph 2, L. 52-1 and L. 52-2 ;
Having regard to law no. 77-808 of July 19, 1977 as amended, and in particular article 11 ;
Having regard to law 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, and in particular articles 1, 13, 14 and 16;
Having regard to decree no. 2001-213 of March 8, 2001, amended, enforcing law no. 62-1292 of November 6, 1962, relating to the election of the President of the Republic by universal suffrage;
Having regard to the opinion of the Constitutional Council issued on October 26, 2006;

After deliberation,

Pursuant to articles 13 and 16 of the aforementioned law no. 86-1067 of September 30, 1986, the French Superior Audiovisual Council hereby issues the following notice to all television and radio services, applicable from December 1, 2006 until the end of the presidential election campaign.

However, the notice does not apply to television and radio services:
- which are exclusively accessible via the Internet outside a television or radio channel package;
- which are specifically dedicated to the electoral propaganda of candidates or the political parties and groupings that support them.

1. RULES APPLICABLE TO THE TREATMENT OF ELECTORAL NEWS

1.1. Definitions and general principles

In accordance with decree no. 2001-213 of March 8, 2001, as amended, campaigning for the election of the President of the French Republic begins, for the first round, on the second Monday preceding the first round of voting and, for the second round, on the day of publication in the Journal officiel of the names of the two candidates entitled to present themselves for the second round.

Prior to the campaign period, the notice makes provision for :
- a "preliminary" period running from December 1, 2006 to the day before publication of the list of candidates drawn up by the Constitutional Council;
- an "intermediate" period running from the date of publication of the list of candidates drawn up by the Constitutional Council to the day before the campaign opens.

1.1.1. The notion of candidate

a) During the preliminary period, the French Superior Audiovisual Council defines :

- declared candidate: any person who has publicly declared his or her intention to run in this election, even if subject to conditions and in particular by making the effectiveness of his or her candidacy conditional on the approval of a political party; to be taken into account, the declaration of candidacy must be accompanied by significant campaigning acts attesting to the seriousness of the candidacy.

- presumptive candidate: any person who has significant public support for his or her candidacy.

b) During the interim period and the campaign, the French Superior Audiovisual Council defines a candidate as any person appearing on the list of candidates drawn up by the Constitutional Council and published in the Journal Officiel.

c) Interventions by candidates holding official positions

Statements made by candidates invested with official functions are counted as part of the candidate's title if they contribute to a review of past action, to setting out the elements of a program or if they may have a direct and significant impact on the ballot by manifestly exceeding the scope of these official functions.

This breakdown also applies to persons supporting a candidate.

1.1.2. Definition of speaking time and airtime

Speaking time includes all interventions by a candidate or his/her supporters.
Airtime comprises speaking time and all editorial elements devoted to a candidate and his or her supporters, as specified in the appended application guide.

1.1.3. On-air access and presentation

a) During the preliminary period, radio and television services shall ensure equitable on-air presentation and access for declared or presumed candidates and their supporters.
Fairness applies to airtime and speaking time.
Fairness between candidates must be assessed in the light of a number of factors set out in the appended application guide.

b) During the intervening period, radio and television services must ensure that they apply the following to candidates and their supporters:
- the principle of fairness with regard to airtime,
- the principle of equality with regard to speaking time.

This principle of equality implies that the speaking times of candidates and their supporters are equal.

c) During the campaign period, the French Superior Audiovisual Council applies the principle of equality to all candidates and their supporters.
This principle of equality implies that speaking times and airtime devoted to candidates and their supporters are equal under comparable programming conditions.

d) The reports, comments and presentations to which the election gives rise must be presented by the editorial staff with a constant concern for moderation and honesty, and must not disadvantage any of the candidates.

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.

Television and radio services shall in particular ensure that the use of audiovisual archives containing images or statements by public figures :
- does not give rise to editing or use likely to distort the original meaning of the document;
- are systematically accompanied by their source and date.

1.2. For the application of the above principles, the French Superior Audiovisual Council demands that television and radio services comply with the following provisions

1.2.1. With regard to news programmes (daily newspapers or news programmes, magazines or special news programmes)

a) During the preliminary period, declared or presumed candidates and their supporters must have equal access to the airwaves, both in cumulative time from December 1, 2006 and :
- for the entire period from December 1, 2006 to December 29, 2006 ;
- per fortnight from December 30, 2006 to Friday March 2, 2007,
- weekly from March 3, 2007.

b) during the intervening period, the principle of equality applicable to speaking time and the principle of fairness applicable to airtime must be respected in cumulative time and by weekly period over the whole of this period.

c) During the campaign period, candidates and their supporters must have equal access to the airwaves under comparable programming conditions.
For the first round of voting, this equality must be respected throughout the 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.

1.2.2. For other programs

In this program category, services must comply with the following speaking times only:
- during the entire preliminary period, the principle of equity ;
- during the entire intermediate period, the principle of equality;
- during the campaign :
* for the first round of voting, the principle of equality throughout the campaign;
* for the second ballot, the principle of equality from the Monday following the first ballot to the following Sunday, and from Monday to midnight on the Friday preceding the second ballot.

If these principles cannot be respected, the French Superior Audiovisual Council considers that it is appropriate to avoid interventions by candidates or their supporters in these broadcasts.

1.3. Records of interventions by candidates and their supporters

a) Statements made by the French Superior Audiovisual Council

The French Superior Audiovisual Council draws up a tally of speaking time and airtime devoted to candidates and their supporters as recorded on the following services:
- TF1 ;
- France 2 ;
- France 3 for its national program;
- Canal+ for its free-to-air programs;
- M6 for its national program.

b) Statements made by television service editors
The following television service editors transmit to the French Superior Audiovisual Council statements of the speaking times of candidates and their supporters on their airwaves, according to a schedule detailed in the application guide appended to this notice:
- France 4 ;
- France 5 for its entire program;
- Réseau France Outremer for its regional programs and for France Ô ;
- France 3 for its regional and local programs;
- Métropole Télévision (M6) for its local programs;
- LCI ;
- I-Télé ;
- BFM TV ;
- Euronews ;
- NT1 ;
- Direct 8 ;
- TMC ;
- Canal+ and its versions for encrypted programs;
- TV5 for its own programs;
- France 24.

The other television services provide the French Superior Audiovisual Council, at its request, with all information relating to the speaking time of candidates and their supporters.

c) Statements made by radio services

The following radio service editors transmit to the French Superior Audiovisual Council statements of the speaking times of candidates and their supporters on their airwaves, in accordance with the schedule detailed in the application guide appended to this notice:
- Réseau France Outremer ;
- Radio France (France Info, France Inter, France Culture, France Musique and France Bleu regional stations);
- RFI ;
- Europe 1 ;
- RTL ;
- BFM ;
- RMC Info ;
- Radio Classique.

Other radio services provide the French Superior Audiovisual Council, at its request, with information on the speaking times of political figures.

d) Transmission of other information

All radio and television services must be able to 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.

All companies mentioned in b) and c) shall keep at the disposal of the French Superior Audiovisual Council the video or audio recordings of the broadcasts concerned for the period covered by the notice.

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

The companies referred to in a) of 1.3. shall ensure that the main election news programmes shown during prime time are accessible (by subtitling and/or sign language) to the deaf or hard-of-hearing.

1.5. Direct expression broadcasts

Direct expression programming is suspended with effect from January 1, 2007 until the election date for political parties and professional and trade union organizations.

2. NEWS NOT RELATED TO THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

a) With regard to national or international news, television and radio services continue to ensure a balance between the time devoted to members of the government, personalities belonging to the parliamentary majority and personalities belonging to the parliamentary opposition, under comparable programming conditions.

In addition, television and radio services continue to ensure equitable speaking time:
- personalities belonging to parliamentary groups that are neither part of the majority nor the opposition;
- personalities belonging to political groups not represented in Parliament.

In accordance with the French Superior Audiovisual Council's established practice, statements made by the President of the Republic are not taken into account if they are not made in his or her capacity as a candidate or in support of a candidate.

b) In their local programs, the services concerned ensure coverage of local news, taking into account local political balance.

3. REMINDER OF LEGAL OBLIGATIONS

3.1. Advertising

In accordance with article 14 of the amended law of September 30, 1986, radio and television advertising of a political nature is prohibited.

With regard to press advertising, television and radio services must ensure that they do not show advertising messages likely to distort the fairness of the vote. Such messages may include verbal or visual references to candidates or to the possible consequences of the vote.

Radio services, as well as television services distributed by networks not using frequencies summonsed by the French Superior Audiovisual Council, shall ensure that they do not show advertisements for literary works whose author is directly concerned by the presidential election, or whose title or content are linked to the challenges of this election.

3.2. Electoral propaganda

In accordance with the second paragraph of Article L.49 of the French Electoral Code, from midnight on the eve of polling day, it is forbidden to show or have shown by any means of communication to the public by electronic means any message having the character of electoral propaganda.

The French Superior Audiovisual Council demands that all radio and television services concerned refrain from showing electioneering messages in Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and French Polynesia, as of 0.00 a.m. (local time) on the eve of polling day in the territory of the communities concerned.

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 three months prior to the election, and no campaign promoting 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 6th month prior to the election.

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 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.

The French Superior Audiovisual Council requests all radio and television services not to show any partial or final election results before the shutdown of the last polling station in the territory concerned (mainland France or overseas France).

Radio and television services broadcasting in mainland France will refrain from broadcasting not only the results for mainland France, but also those recorded in overseas France or in voting centers abroad, before the last polling station in mainland France has shut down.

Radio and television services shall refrain from showing any information likely to give an indication of the outcome of the vote before the last polling station closes.

Television services covering election day in mainland France are invited, no later than five minutes before the close of the last polling station, to show the time on screen to the nearest second.

3.3. Polls

In accordance with article 11 of the amended law of July 19, 1977 relating to the publication and diffusion of certain opinion polls, 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.

3.4. Right of reply

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

3.5. Jurisprudence of the election judge

Television and radio services must respect the principles set out in the jurisprudence of the election judge.

In particular, they must not show any defamatory, insulting or misleading remarks, or any remarks that introduce new elements of electoral controversy, on a date or under conditions that make a response impossible or ineffective.

This notice will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.


Paris, November 7th 2006
For the French Superior Audiovisual Council,
Le Président,
Dominique BAUDIS

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