Recommendation no. 2011-3 of November 30, 2011 to all radio and television services concerning the election of the President of the Republic
Recommendation no. 2011-3 of November 30, 2011 to all radio and television services concerning the election of the President of the Republic
The French Superior Audiovisual Council,
Having regard to Act n° 62-1292 of November 6, 1962 relating to the election of the President of the Republic by universal suffrage ;
Having regard to Act no. 86-1067 of September 30, 1986, as amended, on freedom of communication;
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 deliberation of the French Superior Audiovisual Council n° 2011-1 of January 4, 2011 relating to the principle of political plurality in radio and television services during election periods;
Having regard to the opinion of the Constitutional Council dated November 10, 2011;
After deliberation,
Adopts the following notice:
On January 4, 2011, the Council adopted a resolution applicable to radio and television services during election periods. The present notice supplements this deliberation for the election of the President of the Republic to be held on April 22 and May 6, 2012. It applies to all radio and television services, whatever their broadcasting method by any electronic communication process, as of January 1, 2012.
It does not apply to services which, exclusively accessible via online public communication, are dedicated to the electoral propaganda of candidates or the political groups which support them.
1. RULES APPLICABLE TO THE TREATMENT OF ELECTORAL NEWS
1.1. Application periods
In accordance with decree no. 2001-213 of March 8, 2001, campaigning for the election of the President of the Republic begins, for the first round of voting, on the second Monday preceding the round and, for the second round, on the day of publication in the Journal officiel of the names of the two candidates entitled to stand.
Prior to the election campaign, this notice establishes :
- an initial period running from January 1, 2012 to the day before publication in the Journal officiel of the list of candidates drawn up by the Conseil constitutionnel ;
- a second period running from the day of publication to the day before the start of the election campaign.
1.2 Notion of candidate and support
1° During the first period, the French Superior Audiovisual Council understands by :
- declared candidate: any person who has publicly stated his or her intention to stand for election, even if subject to conditions ;
- presumptive candidate: any person who receives significant public support for his or her candidacy.
2° During the second period and the election campaign for the first round of voting, persons whose names appear on the list drawn up by the Constitutional Council are considered to be candidates. For the second round of voting, the two persons entitled to present themselves are considered to be candidates.
3° Any person explicitly summoning a vote in favor of a candidate is considered to be a supporter.
1.3 Speeches by candidates and their supporters
1° Speaking time includes speeches by candidates and their supporters relating to current electoral events.
2° When a candidate or one of his or her supporters holds an official position, such speeches are counted if they contribute to an assessment of past action, if they set out the elements of a program, or if they may have a direct and significant impact on the election by manifestly exceeding the scope of their official duties.
3° Remarks critical of a candidate are counted only if their author explicitly supports another candidate. Such statements are included in the speaking time of the candidate they support.
4° Airtime includes all time devoted to a candidate and his or her supporters, including speaking time.
5° When dealing with several candidates, editorials, political commentaries and analyses and presentations of opinion polls are not counted as airtime. They are included if they concern only one candidate and are clearly favorable to that candidate.
1.4. Presentation and access to airtime
1° During the first period, broadcasters must ensure that declared or presumed candidates and their supporters have fair presentation and access to the airwaves.
The principle of fairness must be respected throughout this period, in terms of both speaking time and airtime.
To assess compliance with this principle, the Council takes into account, on the one hand, the ability to express the intention to be a candidate and, on the other hand, the representativeness of the candidate.
The ability to express the intention to be a candidate is based in particular on :
- organization of public meetings ;
- participation in debates;
- the use of any means of communication enabling the elements of a political program to be brought to the attention of the public.
The candidate's representativeness is based in particular on :
- the results obtained by the candidate or the political groups supporting him/her at the most recent elections ;
- indications from opinion polls.
2° During the second period, publishers ensure that they apply the following to candidates and their supporters:
- the principle of equal speaking time ;
- the principle of equal airtime.
3° During the election campaign, in accordance with article 15 of decree no. 2001 213 of March 8, 2001, publishers ensure that speaking time and airtime devoted to candidates and their supporters are equal under comparable programming conditions.
For the second round of voting, the principle of equality must be respected from the Monday following the first round up to and including the Friday preceding the second round.
2. RULES APPLICABLE TO THE PROCESSING OF INTERVENTIONS
2.1. Recording of interventions
Editors record the speaking and airtime of candidates and their supporters:
- in newspapers, news bulletins, news magazines and special programs ;
- in other programs.
During the first period, the times recorded are accumulated from January 1, 2012 to the day preceding the date of publication of the list of candidates drawn up by the Constitutional Council.
During the second period, the times recorded are cumulative from the date of publication of the list of candidates drawn up by the Constitutional Council to the day before the first day of the election campaign.
During the election campaign preceding the first round of voting, the times recorded are accumulated from the first day of the campaign up to and including the Friday preceding the first round.
During the election campaign preceding the second round of voting, the times recorded are accumulated from the Monday following the first round of voting to the Friday inclusive preceding the second round.
2.2. Transmission and publication of intervention reports
1° The following publishers transmit electronically to the French Superior Audiovisual Council statements of speaking times for candidates and their supporters in the programs mentioned in 2.1:
- TF1 ;
- France 2 ;
- France 3 for its national and regional programs;
- France 4 ;
- France 5 ;
- overseas France 1ère (radio and television) ;
- France Ô ;
- Canal + for its free-to-air program;
- M6 ;
- BFM TV
- i>Télé ;
- LCI ;
- Direct 8 ;
- NT1 ;
- TMC ;
- Radio France (France Inter, France Info, France Culture, France Musique, France Bleu) ;
- RTL ;
- Europe 1 ;
- RMC ;
- BFM Business ;
- Radio Classique ;
- Sud Radio.
2° For each period mentioned below, the transmission of speaking time takes place on the following dates:
First period
| Period recorded | Transmission date |
| January 1st to January 27th | January 28th |
| January 1 to February 10 | February 11th |
| January 1 to February 24 | February 25th |
| January 1 to March 9 | March 10th |
| From January 1st to the day before publication of the list of candidates |
Day after publication of the list of candidates |
Second period
|
From the day of publication of the list until March 23 |
March 24th |
| From day of list publication to March 30 | March 31st |
|
From the day of publication of the list to the day before the first day of the election campaign |
April 10th |
Tie-breaking period
| April 9 to April 13 | April 14th |
| April 9 to April 20 | April 21st |
Equality period
| April 23 to April 27 | April 28th |
| April 23 to May 4 | May 5th |
The times recorded are cumulated over the entire period concerned on each transmission date.
Records transmitted by publishers are posted on the Conseil's website.
3° At the Council's request, other publishers provide the Council with all information relating to statements of contributions by candidates and their supporters for the period indicated by the Council.
2.3 Controls carried out by the French Superior Audiovisual Council
In addition to the statements of speaking time and airtime that it may carry out directly, the French Superior Audiovisual Council examines the times transmitted to it by the publishers mentioned in 2.2.1° within the days following the transmission dates stipulated in 2.2.2°.
In the event of any imbalances found during these checks, the Conseil will intervene with the publishers concerned, demanding that they remedy the situation so that the principles of fairness and equality are respected at the end of each of the periods mentioned in 1.4.
2.4. Retention and transmission of other information
Publishers shall keep audio and video recordings of programs shown during the period covered by this notice and, where appropriate, forward them to the French Superior Audiovisual Council.
3. RULES APPLICABLE TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS
In accordance with article L. 52-2 of the French Electoral Code, no results, partial or final, may be communicated to the public, by any means of communication to the public by electronic means, in overseas France before the shutdown of the last polling station in the territory of the Republic.
This notice is applicable throughout France.
It will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
Paris, November 30, 2011.
For the French Superior Audiovisual Council
The Chairman,
M. BOYON
Presentation of the notice for the election of the President of the Republic