From Meloni to Bolloré, press freedom (at risk) in Europe

The Italian newspapers quoted by the prime minister responded, accusing Meloni of blacklisting them and undermining press freedom. Emiliano Fittipaldi, editor of Il Domani, called the accusations 'serious, false and above all dangerous'. Il Fatto Quotidiano also accused Meloni and right-wing newspapers of drawing up 'prescription lists' of journalists labelled 'anti-Meloni'. La Repubblica noted that Meloni did not respond to the report's remarks and said her comments 'betray her illiberal idea of journalism and the role journalism has in an accomplished democracy'.

In recent decades, various administrations have been severely criticised for interfering in the media and the excessive concentration of ownership has often been the subject of debate. The current situation raises new questions about the future of press freedom in Italy. The Meloni government will be under scrutiny for its actions to improve the safety of journalists and to ensure a free and independent media environment.

A little further west, in Madrid, the balance is ambivalent. According to the latest RSF report, Spain ranks 30th out of 180. The first place is occupied by Slovakia and the second by Moldova. In 2023, the indicators placed Spain 36th. In fact, Spain (30th), which has fallen seven places in the last five years, rises six places in this report.

Not everything, however, is going in the desired direction. Political polarisation is reflected in the media, which are dangerously blurring the line between information and opinion, contributing to a climate of discrediting journalism. Press freedom is also threatened by the increase in 'gagging processes' (Slapp) against the media and journalists, as well as by 'a new wave of attacks on the press in anti-government demonstrations', the organisation claims.

The Organic Law for the Protection of Citizens' Security, approved in March 2015, is known as the 'gag law' and its approval and entry into force was complemented by reforms to the Criminal and Civil Codes. In the opinion of some jurists, it represents a legal problem for Spain because it exaggeratedly restricts the exercise of democracy and some of the fundamental rights recognised by the Spanish Constitution.

The central point is the attribution of new powers and faculties to the police. Precisely, the motivation for the law was based on the consideration that the police force did not have sufficient legal instruments to respond to certain behaviour of social groups and individuals. The law emerged as an instrument of control that installed a shield of protection for the police.

In 2019 Amnesty International stated that the 'gag law is a real threat in Spain to freedom of expression and the rights of peaceful assembly and information. For four years it has been used against hundreds of journalists trying to document abuses, thousands of activists defending housing or environmental rights, and tens of thousands of people who have been fined for demonstrating or carrying out peaceful acts of protest."

Likewise, its application by the security forces has had a negative impact on the exercise of the right to freedom of information and has even led to self-censorship of journalists and people who want to document police actions.

The digital daily Público, on 30 July, reported: 'Recently, the vice-president of the government, Yolanda Díaz, declared from Brussels, after a meeting of EU labour ministers, that there is a pact between PSOE and Sumar for the reform of the law commonly known - and rightly so - as the gag law, Organic Law 4/2015, of 30 March, for the protection of public safety. The repeal of the gag law is consummated,' said the Vice-President.

Previously, Sumar had presented a bill to reform the gag law to the Congress of Deputies in May this year, 2024. Members of the PSOE and even Sumar played down the vice-president's announcement, saying that the agreement is still under negotiation.

The scenario changes again in France, where the insidiousness stems from more 'economic' factors: the concentration of the media in the hands of industrial groups, themselves engaged in the development of political projects that transcend the defence of their own interests.

Vincent Bolloré, at the head of the group that bears his name (sport, communication, transport), has started to invest in the media, in particular with the Canal+ group channels (C8, Canal+, CNews, CStar), in publishing (Editis, which is estimated to have over 70% of the textbook market), in radio (Europe 1 and RFM) and in the press, with Télé-Loisirs, Geo, Gala, Voici, Femme actuelle, Capital, Paris Match and Le Journal du dimanche.

The newspapers, radio and television stations of this group are characterised by the selection of opinion leaders, journalists and guests belonging to the cultural universe of the ultra-conservative world and the radical right. Its assets are estimated at around EUR 10 billion. Various investigations and analyses unequivocally explain how Vincent Bolloré's media work for a grand alliance of French right-wing parties.

For example, Eric Ciotti (leader of the right-wing conservative party Les Républicains, LR) met with Bolloré after Macron dissolved the Assembly to discuss his party's electoral strategy. Ciotti then allied himself with the RN (which not all members of his party approve of).

Bolloré's political agenda, never hidden nor denied, aims to build a large ultra-conservative right wing.

Press historian Alexis Lévrier describes Bolloré, in The Conversation, as 'an industrialist who decided to build a media empire in the service of a political, cultural and civilisation project'.

In July 2024, two of Bolloré's channels, C8 and NRJ12, lost their licence to use TNT frequencies (digital terrestrial, free channels) for 2025, after years of sanctions. The decision was taken by Arcom (Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique, born from the Conseil supérieur de l'Audiovisuel).

C8 and CNews have accumulated 44 sanctions (including fines, warnings, etc.) from Arcom in 12 years, including failure to respect pluralism of information, insults and defamation.

The issue is central because the dissemination of these channels is widespread, in parts of the population that vote RN, who do not have any kind of 'alternative' information.

Then there is a new actor, Pierre-Edouard Stérin, a fervent Catholic, who calls himself a libertarian, and who tried to buy the weekly Marianne from another billionaire, the Czech Daniel Kretinsky (who eventually changed his mind). Stérin owes much of his wealth to 'Smartbox' gift boxes.

Until recently, he was talked about as just another ultra-conservative actor who wanted to get his hands on a newspaper. It turned out differently. On 18 July, the newspaper l'Humanité published documents describing the 'Périclès plan' (from the association of the same name that he founded, an acronym for 'Patriotes, Enracinés, Résistants, Identitaires, Chrétiens, Libéraux, Européens, Souverainistes'): a plan to finance EUR 150 billion over 10 years to the Rassemblement national and LR (Les Républicains, Ciotti's party) to promote the values of the extreme right and 'serve and save' France. All this, by financing reflections aimed at influencing media coverage.

Among the values Stérin wants to fund and defend are 'individual and entrepreneurial freedom', the 'family' as the 'basis of society', Christianity and 'pride in our history, identity and culture'. In contrast, among the evils to be fought are 'socialism, Wokism, Islamism, immigration' and 'aggressive secularism'.

A plan ranging from the formation of intellectual circles to the training of administrators to win at least one thousand municipalities in the 2026 municipal elections.

Finally, mention should be made of Rodolphe Saadé, the Marseilles-based shipowner who first bought the Marseilles newspaper La Provence and then moved on to the private news giant BFMTV. So far, according to various analyses by specialised journalists, it seems that Saadé is a bit old-fashioned: what he is interested in is promoting, and maintaining, his empire.

*This article is part of the Pulse project and was written by Silvia Martelli (Il Sole 24 Ore, Italy), Ana Somavilla (El Confidencial, Spain), Francesca Barca (Vox Europe, France). Coordination and editing by Alberto Magnani (Il Sole 24 Ore, Italy).