Accused on the right of “authoritarian” drift, Emmanuel Macron refutes any plan for a “state label” for the media

The Head of State assured in the Council of Ministers that he had “never” mentioned the idea of ​​creating a “label” for the press and even less a “Ministry of Truth”.

Emmanuel Macron refuted on Tuesday December 2 that he wanted to establish a “state label” for the press or “Ministry of Truth”faced with accusations from the Bolloré media, the right and the far right who see its initiatives against disinformation as a drift “authoritarian” even “totalitarian”. Since the end of October, the Head of State has embarked on a project to “sound the tocsin” on the risks that social networks pose, in his eyes, to democracy. Over the course of the meetings, he outlines avenues for regulation that he intends to translate into “concrete decisions” early 2026. On the program, a “numerical majority” at 15, the transparency of algorithms, or even legal action in “referred” to urgently block the “fake news” on the networks.

The reflection has so far taken place rather quietly. But this weekend, the Journal du Dimanche, owned by Vincent Bolloré, criticized Emmanuel Macron for “totalitarian drift”. In question, a project, mentioned by the Head of State two weeks ago in Arras, of “labeling done by professionals” to distinguish sites and networks which provide information, according to ethical rules, from others.

The weekly denounced “the temptation of the Ministry of Truth”like in the dystopian novel 1984 by George Orwell. An accusation immediately relayed by the other branches of the conservative businessman, from CNews to Europe 1, whose star presenter Pascal Praud criticized a “president unhappy with media treatment and who wants to impose a single narrative”. As a response also to Emmanuel Macron’s criticisms against “billionaires” who own media “for purposes of influencing opinion”.

The attack was then resumed on the right. “Touching freedom of expression is an authoritarian temptation, which corresponds to the solitude of a man (…) who has lost power and seeks to maintain it through control of information”protested RN president Jordan Bardella on CNews. “No government has to sort the media or dictate the truth”added the boss of the Republicans, Bruno Retailleau, on the social network. The former Minister of the Interior then launched a petition on Tuesday against the “media labeling project”. Faced with these criticisms, the Elysée split on Monday evening of a rare message on to deplore that “talking about fighting disinformation arouses disinformation”.