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charset="iso-8859-1"
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[Just another sign-of-the-times vignette... and an excellent look at =
French osterprobiousness (sp, sic) :-]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/053097france.html
May 30, 1997
Internet Challenges French Polling Laws
By BRUNO GIUSSANI
PARIS -- According to the last opinion polls, which will be made public =
on Friday morning, France could be governed by a leftist coalition after =
Sunday's run-off election.
The Socialist Party is predicted to become the country's leading =
political force, with about 283 of the 577 seats in the Assembl=E9e =
Nationale, the national parliament. Joining with the Communist Party's =
32, they would achieve an absolute majority.
If these figures are confirmed by voters on Sunday, this would mean a =
major setback for President Jacques Chirac's own party, the rightist =
Republican Gathering (RPR), and its partner, Union for French Democracy =
(UDF), which held five out of six seats in the outgoing assembly. Chirac =
won't lose his job, but he'll have to come to terms with a socialist =
prime minister.
Now, what does this have to do with the Internet?
A lot. These opinion polls will be available only on the Internet and on =
other electronic networks, and what's more, French access providers =
carrying this information will be flouting the law and therefore risk =
heavy fines, because it is illegal to publish political opinion polls so =
near an election date.
The French political system is one of the most tainted by polling, =
second only to the United States' in use and misuse of surveys.
To counteract this effect, a bill was adopted in 1977 under President =
Val=E9ry Giscard d'Estaing that forbids "the publication and the =
analysis by any means" (but not their sampling and compilation) of =
political opinion polls the week before national elections. Designed to =
avoid last-minute pressure on voters, this regulation may well be seen =
as another odd "French exception," but is far from unique: similar bans =
apply in countries like Italy, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Greece and =
Canada. In tiny Luxembourg the restriction extends to four weeks.
The first round of the French parliamentary election took place on May =
25. So theoretically, starting on May 18, newspapers, television and =
radio stations should have remained silent on opinion polls.
One didn't. On May 23, the R=E9publique des Pyr=E9n=E9es, a =
small-circulation daily newspaper published in the southwestern town of =
Pau, flouted the law. Arguing that the Internet has made such =
restrictions unworkable, the paper carried the results of a survey along =
with an editorial on the front page titled "In the name of equality."
Jean-Marcel Bouguereau, a columnist, wrote: "I am in France, two days =
ahead of the first round of the elections. Polls are banned, yet I'm =
reading yesterday's one on my computer screen connected to the =
Internet."
"If I was to be hypocritical, I could find out subtle periphrases in =
order to let you guess the survey results without saying anything =
unlawful. I could tell you that 'according to the observers, the big =
parties may lose a few seats to the most extreme groups,'" Bouguereau =
added.
But "in the name of the republican principle of equality" Bouguereau =
decided to publish the poll figures, giving French voters something to =
talk about -- and risking a 500,000 Francs fine (about $90,000).
He said people like politicians, journalists, stock brokers, and now =
Internet users all had access to these surveys, "so why should this =
information be denied to the other French citizens?" he asked.
"The electoral law is out of date, and should be modified," Bouguereau =
concluded.
He immediately won a broad support. Romain Pache, a pollster with the =
BVA institute, said that "this law is based on the assumption that the =
voters are immature." Andr=E9 Santini, a spokesman for the UDF, conceded =
in a televised interview that "we are treating the French citizen like =
infants."
One outgoing representative, Francois-Michel Gonnot, has already =
proposed to amend the law -- calling for a total ban on surveys during =
national election campaigns -- pointing out that the flaw resides in the =
fact that while being banned for publication, polls can be taken, and =
are widely taken, until the last minute before the ballot.
While some of these surveys are kept confidential, others generate =
rumors that constitute a major factor moving the Paris stock market (on =
Wednesday it plunged 4 percent after reports that the left parties could =
win the run-off election), and a few are published -- abroad.
Foreign newspapers have always carried these results, but until recently =
they had a very limited impact.
"But now, there is the Internet," said Guy Mettan, the executive editor =
of the Tribune de Gen=E8ve, a daily published just over the French =
border in Geneva. The Tribune let a pollster survey French voters last =
week and printed the figures quoted in Bouguereau's column.
The Swiss paper posted the results also on its Web site. "The site has =
been swamped by French Internet users, we've got up to 100,000 requests =
per hour," Mettan said. "These are Yahoo-like figures, very unusual for =
Europe."
The Tribune's is a quite modest Web site. It carries only a few articles =
a day with no elaborate design and is part of a larger service managed =
by its publisher, the Swiss group Edipresse. "This success came =
unexpected, our lines have been clogged and the servers' response times =
have been quite long," Mettan added.
His staff will post on Friday morning the newest poll. To avoid new =
problems, Edipresse site managers have doubled the capacity of their =
servers and wires and put in place a mailing list to whom people could =
subscribe to get the survey results by e-mail - at no charge. "Ten =
thousand have registered so far," Mettan said yesterday.
The Swiss newspaper had already had an experience with French polls in =
1995 during the presidential campaign. "We bought a survey before the =
first round, but didn't even think at posting them on the Web," he =
explained in an interview yesterday. "Yet French are so fond of election =
forecasts that we got thousands of phone calls and faxes."
To soften the pressure on its staff, the Tribune posted a second survey =
on its Web site just ahead of the second round, which Jacques Chirac =
won.
Yet France wasn't much wired at that time. Inundated with small Minitel =
terminals, the country has been slow in adopting the Internet, seen by =
many as a tool of American cultural imperialism.
But in the past two years things have changed dramatically. More than =
300,000 French use the Internet today, and the figure is growing =
quickly. Almost all French newspapers have a Web site, and some of them =
have used it over the last weeks to "publish" the banned election polls =
by linking to the Tribune's page.
Lib=E9ration, a Paris-based daily, has a link to a mysterious "Campaign =
Secrets" site hosted on GeoCities, an American service that offers free =
space to put up home pages. The mystery is actually quite obvious: the =
paper's editor-in-chief runs a well-known politically incorrect site on =
GeoCities.
French expatriates like Renaud Soufflot, an economy professor who =
teaches in Norway, also copied and re-posted survey results and =
analysis. "If we consider that opinion polls can distort democracy, then =
we should also ban their compilation," Soufflot said. "The current =
situation only contributes to create two categories of citizens, those =
who can buy polls and therefore know -- politicians, journalists and =
bankers -- and those who don't."
Users of the Minitel -- the French outdated but very popular national =
telematic system, used by an estimated 12 million people -- will also be =
able to access this information through a GOTOWEB text-only gateway. And =
subscribers to cable networks and satellite television channels who tune =
into CNN will get them on CNNtext.
The Internet and other cross-border electronic media have blasted a new =
hole in the French law.
"We won't replicate last week's symbolic action", says Jean-Pierre =
Cassagne, the editor-in-chief of the R=E9publique des Pyr=E9n=E9es, =
referring to Bouguereau's column. "But we hope it will open the way to a =
review of this antiquated law which doesn't let us compete on equal =
terms with the new electronic media."
Things are changing already.
In the last few days newspapers and magazines have also been repeatedly =
publishing the addresses (URLs) where readers can look for survey =
results. A popular daily even printed the Tribune de Gen=E8ve URL as its =
main front page headline. Now the Keeper of the Seals (the French name =
for the minister of Justice) is taking a closer look to see if these =
publications could be charged with "complicity" in distributing banned =
information.
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charset="iso-8859-1"
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[Just another sign-of-the-times vignette... and an excellent look at = French=20 osterprobiousness (sp, sic) :-]
May 30, 1997
Internet Challenges French Polling Laws By BRUNO GIUSSANI PARIS -- According to the last opinion polls, which will be made =
public on=20
Friday morning, France could be governed by a leftist coalition after =
Sunday's=20
run-off election. The Socialist Party is predicted to become the country's leading =
political=20
force, with about 283 of the 577 seats in the Assemblée =
Nationale, the=20
national parliament. Joining with the Communist Party's 32, they would =
achieve=20
an absolute majority. If these figures are confirmed by voters on Sunday, this would mean a =
major=20
setback for President Jacques Chirac's own party, the rightist =
Republican=20
Gathering (RPR), and its partner, Union for French Democracy (UDF), =
which held=20
five out of six seats in the outgoing assembly. Chirac won't lose his =
job, but=20
he'll have to come to terms with a socialist prime minister. Now, what does this have to do with the Internet? A lot. These opinion polls will be available only on the Internet and =
on=20
other electronic networks, and what's more, French access providers =
carrying=20
this information will be flouting the law and therefore risk heavy =
fines,=20
because it is illegal to publish political opinion polls so near an =
election=20
date. The French political system is one of the most tainted by polling, =
second=20
only to the United States' in use and misuse of surveys. To counteract this effect, a bill was adopted in 1977 under President =
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing that forbids "the publication and =
the=20
analysis by any means" (but not their sampling and compilation) of=20
political opinion polls the week before national elections. Designed to =
avoid=20
last-minute pressure on voters, this regulation may well be seen as =
another odd=20
"French exception," but is far from unique: similar bans apply =
in=20
countries like Italy, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Canada. In =
tiny=20
Luxembourg the restriction extends to four weeks. The first round of the French parliamentary election took place on =
May 25. So=20
theoretically, starting on May 18, newspapers, television and radio =
stations=20
should have remained silent on opinion polls. One didn't. On May 23, the République des =
Pyrénées, a=20
small-circulation daily newspaper published in the southwestern town of =
Pau,=20
flouted the law. Arguing that the Internet has made such restrictions=20
unworkable, the paper carried the results of a survey along with an =
editorial on=20
the front page titled "In the name of equality." Jean-Marcel Bouguereau, a columnist, wrote: "I am in France, two =
days=20
ahead of the first round of the elections. Polls are banned, yet I'm =
reading=20
yesterday's one on my computer screen connected to the =
Internet." "If I was to be hypocritical, I could find out subtle =
periphrases in=20
order to let you guess the survey results without saying anything =
unlawful. I=20
could tell you that 'according to the observers, the big parties may =
lose a few=20
seats to the most extreme groups,'" Bouguereau added. But "in the name of the republican principle of equality"=20
Bouguereau decided to publish the poll figures, giving French voters =
something=20
to talk about -- and risking a 500,000 Francs fine (about $90,000). He said people like politicians, journalists, stock brokers, and now =
Internet=20
users all had access to these surveys, "so why should this =
information be=20
denied to the other French citizens?" he asked. "The electoral law is out of date, and should be modified," =
Bouguereau concluded. He immediately won a broad support. Romain Pache, a pollster with the =
BVA=20
institute, said that "this law is based on the assumption that the =
voters=20
are immature." André Santini, a spokesman for the UDF, =
conceded in a=20
televised interview that "we are treating the French citizen like=20
infants." One outgoing representative, Francois-Michel Gonnot, has already =
proposed to=20
amend the law -- calling for a total ban on surveys during national =
election=20
campaigns -- pointing out that the flaw resides in the fact that while =
being=20
banned for publication, polls can be taken, and are widely taken, until =
the last=20
minute before the ballot. While some of these surveys are kept confidential, others generate =
rumors=20
that constitute a major factor moving the Paris stock market (on =
Wednesday it=20
plunged 4 percent after reports that the left parties could win the =
run-off=20
election), and a few are published -- abroad. Foreign newspapers have always carried these results, but until =
recently they=20
had a very limited impact. "But now, there is the Internet," said Guy Mettan, the =
executive=20
editor of the Tribune de Genève, a daily published just over the =
French=20
border in Geneva. The Tribune let a pollster survey French voters last =
week and=20
printed the figures quoted in Bouguereau's column. The Swiss paper posted the results also on its Web site. "The =
site has=20
been swamped by French Internet users, we've got up to 100,000 requests =
per=20
hour," Mettan said. "These are Yahoo-like figures, very =
unusual for=20
Europe." The Tribune's is a quite modest Web site. It carries only a few =
articles a=20
day with no elaborate design and is part of a larger service managed by =
its=20
publisher, the Swiss group Edipresse. "This success came =
unexpected, our=20
lines have been clogged and the servers' response times have been quite=20
long," Mettan added. His staff will post on Friday morning the newest poll. To avoid new =
problems,=20
Edipresse site managers have doubled the capacity of their servers and =
wires and=20
put in place a mailing list to whom people could subscribe to get the =
survey=20
results by e-mail - at no charge. "Ten thousand have registered so=20
far," Mettan said yesterday. The Swiss newspaper had already had an experience with French polls =
in 1995=20
during the presidential campaign. "We bought a survey before the =
first=20
round, but didn't even think at posting them on the Web," he =
explained in=20
an interview yesterday. "Yet French are so fond of election =
forecasts that=20
we got thousands of phone calls and faxes." To soften the pressure on its staff, the Tribune posted a second =
survey on=20
its Web site just ahead of the second round, which Jacques Chirac =
won. Yet France wasn't much wired at that time. Inundated with small =
Minitel=20
terminals, the country has been slow in adopting the Internet, seen by =
many as a=20
tool of American cultural imperialism. But in the past two years things have changed dramatically. More than =
300,000=20
French use the Internet today, and the figure is growing quickly. Almost =
all=20
French newspapers have a Web site, and some of them have used it over =
the last=20
weeks to "publish" the banned election polls by linking to the =
Tribune's page. Libération, a Paris-based daily, has a link to a mysterious=20
"Campaign Secrets" site hosted on GeoCities, an American =
service that=20
offers free space to put up home pages. The mystery is actually quite =
obvious:=20
the paper's editor-in-chief runs a well-known politically incorrect site =
on=20
GeoCities. French expatriates like Renaud Soufflot, an economy professor who =
teaches in=20
Norway, also copied and re-posted survey results and analysis. "If =
we=20
consider that opinion polls can distort democracy, then we should also =
ban their=20
compilation," Soufflot said. "The current situation only =
contributes=20
to create two categories of citizens, those who can buy polls and =
therefore know=20
-- politicians, journalists and bankers -- and those who =
don't." Users of the Minitel -- the French outdated but very popular national =
telematic system, used by an estimated 12 million people -- will also be =
able to=20
access this information through a GOTOWEB text-only gateway. And =
subscribers to=20
cable networks and satellite television channels who tune into CNN will =
get them=20
on CNNtext. The Internet and other cross-border electronic media have blasted a =
new hole=20
in the French law. "We won't replicate last week's symbolic action", says =
Jean-Pierre=20
Cassagne, the editor-in-chief of the République des=20
Pyrénées, referring to Bouguereau's column. "But we =
hope it=20
will open the way to a review of this antiquated law which doesn't let =
us=20
compete on equal terms with the new electronic media." Things are changing already. In the last few days newspapers and magazines have also been =
repeatedly=20
publishing the addresses (URLs) where readers can look for survey =
results. A=20
popular daily even printed the Tribune de Genève URL as its main =
front=20
page headline. Now the Keeper of the Seals (the French name for the =
minister of=20
Justice) is taking a closer look to see if these publications could be =
charged=20
with "complicity" in distributing banned information.