Report on the 2024 election campaigns - European and parliamentary elections

Summary

Voters were summoned to the polls twice in 2024. The first time, on June 9, 2024, as scheduled, for the election of France'seighty-one representatives to the European Parliament. The second time, on June 30 and July 7, 2024, to renew the French National Assembly following the dissolution declared by the President of the Republic.

On both occasions, Arcom exercised the same vigilance in carrying out its statutory duties during election campaigns. In particular, it ensured that the texts governing audiovisual media coverage of the elections were strictly applied, and that the official audiovisual campaigns for both elections were properly organized within the extremely tight deadlines imposed by the legislative elections.

Overall, Arcom is satisfied with the audiovisual media's coverage of the European and parliamentary elections. It notes that, generally speaking, the principle of fairness that applied to the interventions of candidates and their supporters was respected. In particular, she commends the efforts made by the radio and television services, which, not without difficulty, enabled the representatives of the main political currents to compare their proposals during the many debates they organized. Nevertheless, it had to remind certain publishers of the need to comply with the rules in force, notably by issuing formal notices or warnings.

Working in a new legal context with the implementation of the European Digital Services Regulation (DSR), Arcom has also adopted a specific modus operandi, inspired by that already adopted in 2022, with the operators of online platforms in order to deal with the phenomena of information manipulation during the electoral period. Through ongoing dialogue with the platforms, in liaison with the European Commission and the relevant French public authorities, and backed up by recommendations specific to the fight against disinformation in the national context, the Authority has carried out the new tasks incumbent on it under the RSN to protect the integrity of online voting.

Finally, in this report, Arcom puts forward a development proposal aimed at easing the constraints on the timing of official audiovisual campaign operations for the European elections.

Download the Arcom report below