We and our partners do the following data processing based on your consent: store and/or access information on a device, personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development French media respond to M. Le Pen’s ‘Kevlar suit’ comments against investigative outlet The editorial committees of 39 French media outlets, including FRANCE 24 and RFI, on Friday released a joint statement condemning National Rally (RN) party leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen’s recent comments targeting investigative outlet Médiapart as “violent attempts at intimidation” against press freedom in France, qualifying them as “particularly worrying for the right to information" that citizens of a democracy "are entitled to expect”. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen delivers a speech on September 13, 2026 in Henin-Beaumont, northern France. © Jean-Francois Badias, AP Le Pen on Tuesday said Médiapart, an investigative outlet which published alleged anti-Semitic comments by RN party president Jordan Bardella earlier in the week, would have to put on a “bulletproof suit” to contend with the party’s response.
Polls currently show Le Pen set to win the first round of voting for France’s first round of presidential elections on April 18, 2027. We, journalists working in newsrooms with differing editorial lines, jointly and unreservedly condemn the death threats made by the National Rally against our colleagues at Mediapart, and the many attacks by the far right on journalists across the country. By suggesting that Mediapart put on its "Kevlar suit" (a bulletproof vest, in other words), Marine Le Pen is putting a target on journalists' backs.
These violent attempts at intimidation are the hallmark of authoritarian regimes around the world, and they are particularly worrying for the right to information that the people of a democratic country are entitled to expect. Press freedom, guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and international law, makes journalism an indispensable check on power. It's alarming that political leaders who aspire to govern the country can act in this way.
Journalists investigate based on evidence, report facts, explain, analyse and see through well-oiled communication campaigns in keeping with ethical standards, no matter which way their outlet may lean. They must never face intimidation for doing their work. France's Le Pen vows to 'counterattack' after top ally Bardella hit by anti-Semitism claims French far right's Jordan Bardella denies media report he made anti-Semitic comments French investigative site says anti-Semitic messages tied to Jordan Bardella, Le Pen's ally The Debate## Still the same far right?
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