Wanted by Emmanuel Macron, expected by professionals, implemented with a certain distrust, led by contrary winds… the States General of Information (EGI), launched in October 2023 with the ambition of safeguarding the right to free and independent information and guaranteeing pluralism, will submit their copy on Thursday, September 12.
“Our objective is to arrive at an action plan for France on all issues relating to the information space”declared Christophe Deloire, general delegate of the event and then secretary general of Reporters Without Borders, at their inauguration. Aware of the scale of the project he would have to lead, the journalist had set ten priorities, such as “protect the right to confidentiality of sources ” Or “modernize the rules on media pluralism and concentration”.
Almost a year later, Bruno Patino, the president of Arte, succeeded the chairman of the steering committee, Bruno Lasserre, who resigned in January – “for strictly personal and family reasons”, but after the announcement of a future criminal trial for complicity in moral harassment. Mr. Patino also took over from Mr. Deloire, who died suddenly on June 8.
A 349-page report
The ten objectives are supposed to lead to proposals “of a legislative, regulatory, budgetary and fiscal nature” became a 349-page report, containing two recommendations (for professionals) and fifteen proposals: “improving the governance of the news media”, “ensuring media pluralism in the context of concentration operations”, etc. The loop is certainly closed. But has it allowed us to move forward?
“In all our proposals, we try to have a balanced position between the freedom to be informed without being manipulated, the freedom of journalists to exercise their profession with the minimum possible pressure, but also the freedom to undertake”claims Mr. Patino. Just as the successive ministers of culture Rima Abdul Malak and Rachida Dati did not wish to interfere in the process, in order to protect the EGI from any accusation of political control, the president of the steering committee did not want to go beyond what he considered to be his role. “We do not consider ourselves decision-makers, legislators, regulators, or even the interprofessional organization, because we are not representative and we accept that”he insists, anticipating disappointments: “no one will be 100% sure”.
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