Jordan Bardella has attacked La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) on the issue of press freedom. The president of the National Rally accuses Jean-Luc Mélenchon's movement of giving in to a "totalitarian temptation" by wanting, according to him, to "shut down" CNews. This statement reignites political tensions surrounding the Canal+ group's news channel, which is regularly criticized by some on the left for its editorial line and the space it gives to political debates. By defending freedom of expression and media pluralism, Jordan Bardella intends to denounce what he considers an attempt to remove from the audiovisual landscape a channel whose orientations displease his political opponents.
The disagreement, however, extends beyond the case of CNews alone. For several years, La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) has criticized the concentration of media ownership in the hands of large private groups and advocated for stronger guarantees of editorial independence. Several leaders of the movement also question the way political news is covered on certain channels. For its part, the Rassemblement National (National Rally) regularly denounces initiatives it considers attempts to restrict freedom of expression. The two parties thus clash over how to guarantee pluralism: one insists on media regulation and the diversity of opinions represented, while the other warns against the risks of political interference in the workings of newsrooms.
A petition against CNews has surpassed 950,000 signatures.
This controversy arises as a petition calling for the closure of CNews gains significant momentum. By Friday, November 6, it had garnered over 950,000 signatures, a level likely to trigger a debate in the National Assembly. Members of Parliament are expected to decide soon on the parliamentary follow-up. The La France Insoumise group supports this initiative, but a petition, even one with large signatures, cannot single-handedly lead to the closure of a television channel. Any potential sanction falls under the legal framework governing broadcasting and the jurisdiction of Arcom, an independent authority responsible, among other things, for ensuring broadcasters comply with their obligations. According to Jordan Bardella , this mobilization reflects a desire to silence a segment of the public debate, while the petition's supporters emphasize their concerns regarding media pluralism.
The president of the National Rally (RN) also reacted to statements by Bally Bagayoko, mayor of Saint-Denis, who, after the racist attack in Trappes, called for the National Rally to be prevented from speaking out during the presidential campaign when it makes racist remarks. Jordan Bardella denounced this as yet another attack on freedom of expression. He also announced that, should Marine Le Pen win the 2027 presidential election and he himself be appointed Prime Minister, he would ask the European Union to add the far-left organizations he targets to its list of terrorist organizations. These statements reflect the hardening of relations between the RN and La France Insoumise (LFI) as the presidential election approaches, against a backdrop of disagreements concerning freedom of the press, the limits of political expression, and the fight against violence.
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