3 ms·
This is sort of true. I ran a publication there for a few years and there are a lot of lines you cannot cross, lines that don't exist in the UK or the US. One
by mpclark 13y ago
This is sort of true. I ran a publication there for a few years and there are a lot of lines you cannot cross, lines that don't exist in the UK or the US.
One I particularly remember (though I can't quote it exactly) is that you can (could?) be hauled into court for criticising heads of state, domestic or foreign.
- astrobe_ 13y agoProbably a misunderstanding. French press criticize the President 24/7. You can't insult the president or any other official in public, or any other French citizen. Just like in most other European countries, France lets you say what you want, as long as you don't spread lies or hatred.
- mpclark 13y agoThat makes sense, and I'll be the first to admit my understanding of French law was not as clear as it should have been, but the line between "criticise" and "insult" is very fine. For instance, my understanding is that, in France, one should think twice before using the words "Mugabe" and "despot" in the same sentence. This is not a problem in the UK or the US at all. But maybe this is also part of what made France such a very civilised, cultured and enjoyable place to live.
- jlgreco 13y agoThe line between criticize and insult is so fine, I can scarcely see it. It's like the line between the ocean and the beach. Can a French person say "The president is illiterate.", as Americans have often said about their president? Could they say "The idiotic president keeps on making up words."? Harsh criticism is naturally insulting.
- fharper1961 13y agoOne of the main French newspapers recently wrote that Mugabe a despot. http://www.liberation.fr/monde/2013/07/31/au-zimbabwe-le-dernier-pari-de-mugabe_922028 http://www.liberation.fr/monde/2013/07/31/au-zimbabwe-le-der...
- Dylan16807 13y agoInsults are not (usually) hatred. It's closer to a rule against being rude, which doesn't seem to me like something that should be enforced by the police.
- mcguire 13y agoNote that the UK has its own oddities: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCA_v._Singh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCA_v._Singh.
- mpclark 13y agoPoint taken, but that case did also generate huge controversy and a change in the law in an attempt to stop such an oddity occurring again.