Censorship in France

In 1275 Philip III of France put Parisian scriptoria under the control of the University of Paris which inspected manuscript books to verify that they were correctly copied.

[10] The state control was strengthened in 1571 by the edict of Gaillon which placed enforcement of the censorship laws in the Chancellor's office instead of the university.

[citation needed] Following Auguste Vaillant's assassination attempt, the first anti-terrorist laws was voted in 1893, which were quickly denounced as lois scélérates.

The second one allowed to condemn any person directly or indirectly involved in a propaganda of the deed act, even if no killing was effectively carried on.

The last one condemned any person or newspaper using anarchist propaganda (and, by extension, socialist libertarians present or former members of the International Workingmen's Association (IWA): 1.

Or directed a provocation towards soldiers in the Army or Navy, with the aim of diverting them from their military duties and the obedience they owe their superiors ... would be referred to the police correctional courts and punished by imprisonment for three months to two years.

[18] During World War I, postal censorship was in force, as the French state thought it necessary to control the public's morale and thus engaged in a sort of psychological warfare.

Censorship was current during the war, leading to the 1915 creation of Le Canard enchaîné weekly, which used satires and other games of words to pass through "Anastasia's scissors", as was popularly called the censors (such word games still exist in Le Canard, for leisure purposes, such as the section named "Sur l'album de la Comtesse")..[citation needed] France fell to German forces in May 1940.

The occupying German military administration set up a propaganda effort headquartered in Paris, with branches (Propagandastaffel) in major cities.

after the 2005 riots 200 UMP deputies, led by François Grosdidier, brought a petition against several groups including Fabe, Sniper, 113, Lunatic, and others.

The bill was first adopted by the Senate in 1983; in 1987, during the debates before the National Assembly, the book was cited by name as a prime example of what was to be banned.

The firing of the Paris Match director by Hachette Filipacchi Médias coincided with several other instances of self-censorship in French media.

DCRI claimed the article contained classified military information, for reasons that to date remain unclear, and broke French law.

"[25] On 15 December 2017, France's Constitutional Court rejected a bill to make visiting terrorist websites a criminal offence, citing "inviolability of freedom of communication and expression" as a reason.

"[35] Computer software developed outside France has to have its user interface and instruction manuals translated into French to be legally used by companies in France, due to the provision of the Toubon law applying to all workplaces that "any document that contains obligations for the employee or provisions whose knowledge is necessary for the performance of one's work must be written in French.

[37] The latter law is not linguistic censorship because it applies to television programs that are dubbed into French; rather it is a restriction of foreign-produced cultural content.

In another law that involves censorship of both linguistic and foreign-produced content, songs in the French language on radio are protected by a minimum quota system.

[37] The press is largely unrestricted by law in France, although indirect pressures are sometimes applied to prevent publication of materials against the interests of the government or influential industries.

However, there are examples of independence of the press, including the Canard enchaîné, a newspaper that is known for its scoops and publication thereof, even against the will of the government.

Human rights defenders were alarmed regarding France's lower house of parliament debating a controversial bill advocated by President Macron's party, and say the measure would hurt press freedoms and will result in "massive" self-censorship.

Though it depicts the escapades of Francis I of France, censors of the time believed that it also contained insulting references to King Louis-Philippe.

Hugo brought a suit to permit the performance of the play, which he lost but it propelled him into celebrity as a defender of freedom of speech.

It sets as a general rule that citizens can demand a copy of any administrative document (in paper, digitized or other form).

France has been declared guilty of excessive delays (more than 10 years) many times by the European Court of Human Rights..[citation needed]