Ariane Lavrilleux’s arrest is the latest case in France’s war against journalists & free press

Journalist Ariane Lavrilleux recently became the target of the French government over allegations she made in a report regarding French intelligence being misused by Egyptian authorities on the Libyan border that led to the killing of civilians. After her home in Marseille was raided, most likely for the French government to uncover her sources, she was arrested and interrogated for nearly 40 hours.

Furthermore, one of her sources, a former member of the French military was charged for leaking classified information.

The “crime” she seems to have committed related to a report published two years ago by Disclose, that revealed France supplied the Egyptian regime with sophisticated intelligence gathering equipment for the purpose of ‘fighting terrorism’, but that was used along the Egyptian-Libyan border to track smugglers and lethally target civilians. Known as Sirli, the operation was launched after an agreement between former minister of defence Jean Yves Le Drian, and his Egyptian counterpart Sedki Sobhi. This followed France’s sale of 30 Rafale fighter jets and two warships to the Egyptians for a total of €5.6 billion.

''I have also personally been on the receiving end of this repression. I have been prosecuted five times and charged twice, all over blowing the whistle on racial discrimination in Paris city hall, police brutality, and the death of a black woman in a public library where she worked following years of mistreatment.''

Lavrilleux’s investigations revealed that a series of extrajudicial assassinations were committed under French military watch and that the French president at the time, François Hollande, followed by his successor Emmanuel Macron, were informed about. French military personnel had allegedly began expressing doubts as early as April 2016 when it was clear to them that the Egyptian military was using them to kill civilians living in the impoverished Mersa Matruh region, not to fight terrorists. Though the chain of command was informed, nothing was done to put a halt to the operation, or at least reconsider it.

Not an exception

The online media website that published the report was understandably furious over Lacerilleux’s detention, especially given that the French domestic intelligence services have interrogated their journalists at least five times since 2018 for exposing the role of arms deals in the killing of civilians in Yemen, as well as corruption.

Several French journalists have publicly called out the recent episode of state reprisals against them for doing their job, as Lavrilleux’s case is just the latest in a long series of attempts to repress journalists in the country. Furthermore, these events are indicative of the French government’s hostility towards a free press, particularly if it exposes human rights abuses, or dares to inform the general public without official approval.

An additional recent example is Macron’s Beirut outburst after a journalist revealed the president’s meeting with Hezbollah officials. How contradictory for a leader who lectures the rest of the world on press freedoms.

I have also personally been on the receiving end of this repression. I have been prosecuted five times and charged twice, all over blowing the whistle on racial discrimination in Paris city hall, police brutality, and the death of a black woman in a public library where she worked following years of mistreatment.

For those who suggest that this is all the outcome of French “democracy” being broken, it is not. It is simply showing its true nature. The bottom line is that the French state doesn’t want more transparency, and journalists have always been perceived as a threat to its hegemony.

Lest we forget that 38 years ago, then president François Mitterrand ordered Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior ship to be blown up and sunk due to its campaigning against France’s nuclear tests in the South Pacific. Portuguese photographer Fernando Pereira, was amongst those tragically killed in the attack.

Lack of pushback

The issue in France is that journalists have arguably not fought hard enough to protect their rights, with too many historically cosying up to government figures. It the fact that only around 16% of French people trust journalists, quite understandable.

Veteran journalists like Elise Lucet, host of the Cash Investigation, was amongst those who has rightly called out her colleagues for their proximity to power, and lack of independence, which further weakened them in the face of political pressure.

Concerningly, the French state’s tendency to put the free flow of information under a chokehold will likely not stop if we continue on this trajectory. One of the MPs from the presidential party, Mounir Belhamiti, has even proposed a bill to ban VPN’s in order to better track people on social media. Macron also proposed to ban publications calling for demonstrations, putting France in the same repressive category as countries like North Korea and India.

To make matters worse, the government is discussing another repressive bill related to "securing and regulating cyberspace" in response to the mass mobilisations, protests and support on social media related to the racist police killing of French-Algerian teenager, Nahel. Given France’s recent history when it comes to the attacks on liberties, this will likely go through with little pushback.

From mass surveillance, to a centralised biometrics file, and comprehensive security law further extending police powers and reducing accountability, the ease with which all of these laws were passed have only emboldened the government to introduce more measures to further evade accountability.

Indeed, the limited public debate and coverage on the arrest of Lavrilleux has also shown how the French media is no longer (if ever they were) a space that questions the powers that be. After all, in a functioning democracy the investigating would have been directed towards those who collaborated with a foreign dictatorship to commit human rights violations.

What was exposed in the Disclose report only reinforces that the French government will always support the brutal regimes around the world in the name of selling weapons and accessing oil. The question is, how long will the people and French media allow them to get away with it?

The French government should be sanctioned for its participation in any crimes, but as it stands the will and collective pressure just isn’t there. Until it exists, and is strengthened, Macron’s dance with dictators will continue, and if journalists dare to hold him accountable for it, they will likely be met with the same answer: silence.

Yasser Louati is a French political analyst and head of the Committee for Justice & Liberties (CJL). He hosts a hit podcast called "Le Breakdown with Yasser Louati" in English and "Les Idées Libres" in French.

Follow him on Twitter: @yasserlouati

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Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.