President of France’s National Rally (RN) party and MEP Jordan Bardella has warned that free speech was “under attack” in his country, citing the US as a model for change.
On February 17, Bardella denounced the possible end of the Channel C8 TV station, home to right-wing commentator Cyril Hanouna.
“C8, which has been in existence for 20 years, could cease broadcasting, simply by decision of Arcom and despite popular support [one million signatures collected in an online petition],” he said.
Bardella stated any move to take C8 off the air “would be an unprecedented attack on free speech”.
During the summer of 2024, the French regulator decided to shut C8 over controversial right-wing shows Touche pas à mon Poste and Host.
French TV channel C8, known for airing a popular right-wing show, will be taken off air by next year following a ruling from the French broadcasting regulator, Arcom. https://t.co/HDs5sX8O9n
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 25, 2024
Bardella argued that France was going through a worrying period for free speech, spearheaded by the Left.
“Under pressure from a Left that has adopted the culture of denunciation and turned itself into a thought police, we are witnessing an extension of the domain of the ‘slip-up’: Anything that contravenes the Left’s doxa [common belief] becomes, slip-up,” he claimed.
Rejecting what he called a “soft consensus” that stifled open debate, Bardella insisted that France must break free from ideological constraints imposed by the Left in the country.
“We can no longer accept a soft consensus that prevents us from saying what we see and solving the problems facing our country. We can no longer tolerate the existence of official and forbidden thought,” he added.
To counteract these trends, Bardella, pointed to the US as a new model for free speech in France.
“[US President] Donald Trump has been re-elected, promising to be the champion of free speech. The United States is gradually dismantling the structures of opinion control that had taken hold,” he said.
He also referred positively to social media in the US.
“Meta will now put free speech at the forefront, replacing guided fact-checking with ‘community ratings’, which will enable self-regulation from below,” he said.
“Twitter, bought by Elon Musk, has adopted this model, which allows a balance between absolute free speech and the necessary verification of facts, ” he added.
Bardella said he hoped for the same “wind of freedom”.
“In France, the same wind of freedom must blow.
“We can no longer allow the Left to define the terms of debate, the legitimacy of debaters and the authorised subjects, ” he concluded.
Meta, the parent company of social media giants including Instagram and Facebook, has said it planned to “restore free speech”. https://t.co/KDyVbGqKxk
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 7, 2025
