Macron’s Illiberal Drift Fails in Court
France's Constitutional Council blocked Macron's social media ban for under-15s, ruling identity verification requirements were disproportionate attacks on free expression.
The ruling, which came after challenges from the Socialist Party and France Unbowed, found that while protecting minors is a legitimate goal, the methods employed represented an attack on freedom of expression that was neither adapted, necessary nor proportionate, according to Causeur.
The Constitutional Council also rejected provisions requiring all internet users to provide identity verification before accessing social platforms, citing concerns about government tracking and surveillance of citizens. Despite this clear judicial rebuke, Emmanuel Macron immediately instructed Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu to craft a “legally robust” version of the ban, vowing “total determination” to implement the measure by spring 2027.
Pattern of Restrictions on Speech
This is not the first time France’s Constitutional Council has blocked Macron’s attempts to control information and speech. On December 8, 2017, the court struck down provisions backed by the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism that would have made citizens ineligible for office based on certain opinion-related offenses, finding the measures disproportionate.
More recently, the Bergé bill, drawing from the controversial Yadan proposal, has attempted to criminalize positions critical of mass immigration and other politically sensitive topics under the pretext of combating racism, as Causeur reports.
Russian Journalist Case Raises Further Questions
The government’s approach to controlling information extends beyond social media restrictions. Xenia Fedorova, a Russian journalist appearing on CNews, has been declared unwelcome in France by the government, raising questions about whether the Constitutional Council’s protection of free expression will apply in her case.
Official paranoia about Russian interference, wielded by struggling candidates seeking relevance, has so far amounted only to marginal amateur operations, according to the French publication. More concerning is a Senate report on information regulation in the digital space published in early July, which proposes a new crime of “internal interference” — a term coined by centrist Senator Laurent Lafon that could enable a thought police apparatus.
Regulatory Overreach
France’s audiovisual regulator Arcom recently reprimanded journalist Franz-Olivier Giesbert for stating on CNews that he would not want to be Jewish in Roubaix because he would be forced to leave. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez lamented the circulation on social networks of images showing tens of thousands of migrants, most of whom have since departed, invading Ceuta, Spain, in late July.
The National Rally abstained on the blocked legislation, failing to recognize the importance of the digital revolution that has mobilized many of its supporters. This intellectual laziness left the Socialist Party and France Unbowed to take the lead on defending digital freedoms, representing a significant missed opportunity for the right-wing party.
With information from Causeur
