Paris (France) (AFP) – Reliability of information, independence of editorial staff, protection against AI... The NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Monday set out ten priorities to "defend press freedom", asking for "concrete commitments" from presidential candidates.

Published on: 09/11/2026 - 12:34

“With its ten proposals, RSF intends to confront candidates with their responsibilities and encourage them to go beyond declarations of principle to present precise commitments,” RSF indicated in a press release, wishing to make the right to information a “central issue of the campaign”.

The first proposal is to “make the right to reliable information the great national cause in 2027”.

RSF also wants to “promote access to information”. This could involve the creation of a “media pass” for 15-24 year olds, based on the culture pass model, which allows young people to benefit from credit to finance cultural purchases.

The NGO also wishes to strengthen anti-concentration measures, for example by establishing a threshold "of capacity to influence public opinion, assessed on the scale of all media controlled by the same actor".

RSF also calls for "effective guarantees of independence" of editorial staff in the face of "interference from owners", and a strengthening of the protection of the secrecy of journalists' sources.

The organization also wants social networks and artificial intelligence (AI) players to properly pay the media for using their content.

Finally, RSF calls for “sustainably guaranteeing the independence and financing of public broadcasting”. The National Rally (far right) plans to privatize this sector if it comes to power.

“Ranked 25th in the World Press Freedom Index established by RSF in 2026, France has significant gaps in the protection of the right to information,” argues the NGO.

“However, the diagnoses have been made for a long time. The political responses are slow to materialize,” she laments.

Emmanuel Macron's campaign promise, the General Information Conference was launched in October 2023, to provide a broad overview of the sector's issues and formulate proposals. But these have never been translated into law.

© 2026 AFP

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