Human Rights Torch Relay Largely Covered in the French Media

In the press

On August 22nd 2007 the newspaper Libération, one of the three main national newspapers in France, distributed in other French speaking countries in the world, published a three quarter page article on the occasion of the Human Rights Torch Relay that was launched in Athens on August 8th and reached Germany on August 18th.

The article reveals the attempt by the Chinese regime to extinguish the Human Rights Flame in Athens and made it clear that the Greek police did not yield to the Chinese authorities’ pressure.

The journalist explains that to prepare the Olympic Games in Beijing, the regime wants to “present a glossy picture” of the situation in China but therefore persecutes the Chinese even more, and especially the Falun Gong movement.

Also, the article denounces the harvesting of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners.

National Television

On Saturday August 18th in the evening news bulletin, French-German television ARTE, the cultural public channel, devoted ten minutes to the Human Rights Torch Relay ceremony in Berlin.

On August 10th, I-TELE, the information channel of the national TV group CANAL +, broadcast a report on the Human Rights Torch Relay, and rebroadcast it every 15 minutes that day.

On August 20th at 1:50 pm Radio France International broadcast an interview on the Human Rights Torch Relay.

Another national public radio station, France Culture, covered the event in the live show of its 6pm bulletin on August 16th.

RMC, another national radio also covered the event in positive terms.

On August 8th the national radio Europe 1 covered the Human Rights Torch Relay in a special edition on the Olympic Games that lasted a whole day.