Free Press

This link contains a video prepared by a Belgian TV station showcasing French President Nicolas Sarkozy arriving late at a press conference and visibly completely drunk. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd44XTlUQjQ

As you can see, it’s an absolutely hilarious clip! My favourite part is when he tells the journalists that they should ask the questions because he wouldn’t know what to ask them. Strangely though, not a single French TV station decided to broadcast this clip.

It really is unbelievable: a clip of their drunken president didn’t make the French’s 10 o’clock news. To add to the drama, the country is currently going through an election campaign (this current election is the legislative elections, which is not to be confused with the Presidential election that was won by Sarkozy) and Sarkozy’s party desperately wants a victory.

With the first ballot results announced, that victory seems almost assured, but this may not have been the case if the clip had been broadcasted nationally on the eve of the election, which would no doubt have happened in Canada if faced with a similar situation.

This is a reminder of the vital importance of a free press. In France, the Sarkozy virtually controls the main TV agencies, and in the case of this video, his control had a grip on the election results. In Canada, though the problem is not nearly as drastic, our government has been notorious for making the media's life difficult, and this trend has shown no sign of reversing itself. We must tell Harper that enough is enough so as to avoid ending up with dismal and controlled reporting à la Française.