Why France's complex election rules limit media coverage - FRANCE 24

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Why France's complex election rules limit media coverage • FRANCE 24 English

FRANCE 24 English
Jun 28 2024

France has complex election rules that limit each party's airtime during campaign season and require a media blackout over election weekend. The theory is that they guarantee "fairness", while limiting the risk of overexposure. However, it creates an odd situation where journalists have to avoid reporting on the biggest news story in the country. Ahead of the first round of legislative elections on Sunday, our international affairs editor Philip Turle explains the rules that impact French TV and radio, while newspapers and social media remain exempt.

Read more about this story in our article: https://f24.my/ARAF.y

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1. K&R

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2. Many democracies have that same 'weekend blackout' rule - but the candidates find ways to flout them

Ruling party candidates will often "inaugurate public works" - during which they make some impassioned campaign pitch.

And even opposition candidates can - and they play their cards right. They can, for instance, stage an incident - making sure they have their allied network "conveniently" nearby to cover it (and their resulting speech).

"Our correspondent, Aldo Butkis, happened to be in the vicinity."

The right-wingers are - of course - particularly shameless about that.