The newspaper The world removed from its site a forum on President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Algeria because it “contained an error which led to a misinterpretation”, he said on Friday after being the target of censorship accusations. “The Debates pages of the World are intended to accommodate analyzes and points of view, including very controversial ones. We cannot afford to accommodate texts with factual errors,” argued the newspaper in a detailed explanation posted online Friday afternoon.
A “right-wing” formulated on the question of memory
This forum was published Thursday morning and then withdrawn in the afternoon. Signed by researcher Paul Max Morin, it was titled “Reducing colonization in Algeria to a ‘love story’ completes Macron’s right-wing on the memory issue”.
In a first brief update replacing the removed stand, The world gave this explanation: “If it can be subject to various interpretations, the sentence ‘a love story which has its share of tragedy’ pronounced by Emmanuel Macron during the press conference did not specifically evoke colonization, as was written in the gallery, but the long Franco-Algerian relations”.
A withdrawal that has drawn much criticism
“The world apologizes to its readers, as well as to the President of the Republic”, wrote the newspaper at the end of this first update, quickly followed by criticism. “Remove a platform for a quote from Macron that he dislikes! New stage in the collapse of a press that was once a reference”, had thus tweeted Thursday evening the leader of La France insoumise, (LFI) Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Remove a platform for a quote from Macron that he dislikes! New step in the collapse of a press that was once a reference. “Le Monde” skews quotes all year round. But when Macron frowns… Pro week, I don’t buy this newspaper. Do better. pic.twitter.com/QM1PaPLpg0
— Jean-Luc Melenchon (@JLMelenchon) September 1, 2022
“Astounding censorship”, also tweeted journalist Edwy Plenel, founder of Mediapart, on Friday morning, pointing out that Le Monde “presents its ‘apologies’ to the President of the Republic.”
Staggering censorship.@lemondefrpresents its “apologies” to the President of the Republic by deleting the platform below which criticizes Macron’s vision of Franco-Algerian relations as “a love story which has its share of tragedy” https://t.co /uqf2J2vKL7pic.twitter.com/qDzqKaq2sC
— Edwy Plenel (@edwyplenel) September 2, 2022
“Withdrawing a text is an abnormal and incomprehensible practice”, reacted Friday the author of the tribune, Paul Max Morin, with Release. After these criticisms, Le Monde published a more detailed explanation on its site on Friday afternoon. “When we make mistakes that are our fault, it’s normal to apologize to the people to whom it may have harmed, starting with our readers,” the director of the magazine told AFP. WorldJérôme Fenoglio, regarding the apologies expressed in the first post.
In October 2021, comments by Emmanuel Macron reported by The worldaccusing the Algerian “politico-military” system of maintaining a “memorial rent”, had provoked a crisis between Algiers and Paris.