RSF - Reporters sans frontières

09/30/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/01/2025 08:56

France: Gérard Depardieu lawsuit against public broadcaster violates press freedom

Actor Gérard Depardieu is suing public media France Télévisions and the production company Hikari over an episode of the investigative television programme "Complément d'enquête." The trial, which begins on 2 October, poses a major threat - if not a downright violation - to press freedom in France. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) stands with the defendants and calls on the Paris Correctional Court to refrain from setting a precedent for the criminalisation of editing, a vital part of the journalistic process, and strongly condemns the plaintiff's offensive methods, akin to a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP).

Gérard Depardieu is disputing the veracity of an episode of "Complément d'enquête" that claimed he made sexual comments to a young girl during a trip to North Korea in 2018. The programme, broadcast on the France Télévisionschannel France 2in December 2023, was produced by Hikari.

RSF has noted several violations of press freedom throughout the proceedings - from potential infringements to clear-cut attacks - relating to allegations of "illegal" editing of footage, the protection of journalists' sources, and the multiple lawsuits brought against media professionals, which amount to SLAPPs.

"Describing the sequence in question as 'illegal editing' when it has been declared legal by several expert reports and a court bailiff amounts to criminalising a standard journalistic practice. The attack on press freedom in the Depardieu case could open the door to interpretations of what is and is not permitted in journalistic reporting, and push news professionals to self-censor when it comes to certain sensitive subjects for fear of prosecution. This lawsuit is similar to a SLAPP, a legal pretext for restricting the coverage of certain issues. Furthermore, fostering suspicion around the editing process undermines public confidence in journalistic reporting. Investigative journalism is not a crime - it's up to the Paris Correctional Court to issue this reminder and not set an irreversible precedent for press freedom.

Thibaut Bruttin
RSF Director General

Among the alleged criminal offences against France Télévisionsand Hikari, the claim of "illegal editing" is central to the case, has been the subject of several court-ordered forensic examinations and stands out as a clear threat to press freedom. Editing is an inherent part of professional journalism, particularly in broadcast and online media: it allows information to be organised in a way that makes it more intelligible to the audience and ensures the presentation of a subject is fluid.

The current proceedings are a textbook example of a SLAPP, a common practice among those who seek to use the justice system to silence journalists; RSF has long called forambitious EU measures against these gag suits. In this case, the accused journalists have been facing legal harassment from actor Gérard Depardieu for nearly two years, including multiple legal proceedings against them - one civil and two criminal investigations - and threats of search and seizure. These costly legal actions exploit the imbalance in financial resources between the parties.

The protection of sources has also been seriously undermined throughout the proceedings. In May 2024, the court ordered Hikari to disclose - "in the interest of transparency" - the "recordings [...] strictly corresponding to the sequence filmed in the presence of Gérard Depardieu," as the court considered the breach of source confidentiality was "not proven." In March 2025, the Paris Court of Appeal authorised the release of the uncut footage to the plaintiff, under the legal pretext of "overriding public interest"- a poorly-defined legal concept that RSF and other organisations have long demandedbe clarified and restricted. This allowed for the journalist' sources to be identified, an alarming attack that was condemned by RSF.

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Published on30.09.2025
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