Defamation
Verified 08 June 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
You believe that a word, a writing or a publication in a newspaper or on the Internet is attack on your honor ?
You can complain, because defamation is punishable by law. Penalties are higher if defamation is public, directed at public authorities, and racist or discriminatory in nature.
We present you with the information you need to know.
Defamation is the assertion of a fact that affects a person's honor or consideration.
The fact in question must be sufficiently precise to be capable of being proved.
Example :
Declare in a public debate that a political opponent is a “justice taker.”
Defamation occurs even if the allegation is made in disguised or dubious form or if it is innuendo.
Example :
Post content on social media saying that a person is a pedophile.
Defamation also occurs if the allegation is directed at a person who is not identified by name but is identifiable.
Example :
Report to the city council that the chief of the municipal police is corrupt, without mentioning his name.
Defamation must not be confused with insult.
Defamation involves the assertion of a specific fact, which affects the honor or consideration of a person, unlike insult, which is general in scope and does not relate to any specific fact.
Example :
Calling a person a “repeat offender” is defamation, not insult, because “being a repeat offender” is a fact of life, meaning being repeatedly convicted by the courts.
On the other hand, calling a person "goujat" is an insult and not a defamation, because it is an outrageous and contemptuous expression and not a specific fact.
Non-public defamation
Non-public defamation is defamation that takes place in a private or restricted context.
It's a defamation directed only at the person or a limited number of people who are part of a community.
Example :
Defamatory remarks between spouses in the family home, in front of guests.
The fact that a defamation was pronounced in a closed place does not necessarily make it a non-public defamation.
Shouting in a courtyard may constitute public defamation, because it can be heard by all occupants of the building and their guests.
Public defamation
Public defamation is defamation that can be heard, seen or read by a large number of people or by the general public.
Example :
Defamatory statements made in a public meeting, on the street, or published in a paper newspaper or on a website.
Comments made on a social network can also be considered public defamation.
Depending on the lock chosen by the account holder, the comments made may be accessible to any Internet user or to a more or less restricted circle offriends.
If the defamatory content is posted on an account that is accessible to all, it is public defamation.
If the defamatory content is broadcast on an account accessible only to a limited number offriends selected by the author of the remarks, this is a non-public defamation.
Difference
The law punishes public defamation more severely, because it comes to the public's attention and therefore harms the person who suffers it more severely.
If you wish to have content removed from the internet, you can make a request to the author of the content, then to the host of the site and finally to the court.
The procedure varies depending on whether the content is terrorist or not.
General case
The procedure varies depending on whether it is a post or a comment on a post.
For a publication
You must first contact the author of the content, who is the responsible of the website.
If the site manager refuses to remove the content, you must contact its host. The contact details of the host must be indicated on the website in question.
Many hosts, such as video sites, set their own terms for removing content, including because of copyright infringement or offensive images. For this purpose, they have specific signaling devices.
If the host does not remove the reported content according to its own procedure, you can make a report to it in a legal framework. This will allow you to go to court afterwards.
To report content to a host in a legal context, you must follow a very specific procedure.
Your application must include the following elements:
- Your name, first name and e-mail address (this is not necessary if you are logged on to the site at the time of notification and your credentials are already registered)
- Description of the disputed content, its precise location on the site and, if possible, the e-mail addresses that made it accessible
- Legal grounds for removing the content (law apparently violated by the content)
- Copy of 1era request for withdrawal addressed to the author or proof of impossibility to contact him (it is not necessary for infringements the most serious, such as terrorism, pedophilia and crimes against humanity)
You must make your request by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. You can ask a lawyer for help.
Who shall I contact
You can attach screenshots of the contents made by a commissioner of justice (former bailiff and judicial auctioneer).
Who shall I contact
If you report content knowingly knowing it is not illegal, you could face up to 1 year in prison and €15,000 of fine.
If you have used this procedure and the host does not promptly remove the content (by explicit refusal or by not responding to you), you can complain against him.
The complaint will be based on the fact that the offending content is contrary to the law (insults, racist, homophobic, sexist...).
FYI
in cases of urgency and obvious harm, you can to request an application for interim measures to have content removed by the host. However, the latter will not be penalized.
For a comment
You must contact the person responsible for the website or social network on which the comment is located.
If the site or social network manager refuses to withdraw the comment, you must contact their host. The contact details of the host must be indicated on the website in question.
Many hosts, such as video sites, set their own terms for removing content, including because of copyright infringement or offensive images. For this purpose, they have specific signaling devices.
If the host does not withdraw the comment reported according to its procedure, you can make a report by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. You can ask a lawyer for help.
Who shall I contact
You can attach screenshots of the contents made by a commissioner of justice (former bailiff and judicial auctioneer).
Who shall I contact
Your request for withdrawal must be as precise as possible: offenses concerned, link to the comment in question, ...
If the site manager does not delete the comment quickly, you can complain against him for the offense in question.
FYI
in cases of urgency and obvious harm, you can to request an application for interim measures to have a comment removed.
Terrorist Content
If it's terrorist content, there are specific rules that apply.
If you are a victim or witness to defamatory speech on the internet (on a forum or social network), you can report it to the police or the gendarmerie.
Report illegal internet content (internet-reporting: Pharos)
How much time do you have to file a complaint?
You must file a complaint within a limited time after the fact, otherwise the complaint will not be examined.
This period is called the limitation period and starts on the date of 1era publication of the words or their oral pronunciation.
The period of prescription depends on the nature of the defamation:
- In general, the limitation period for public defamation and non-public defamation is 3 months.
- On the other hand, the limitation period for public defamation and non-public defamation of a racist or discriminatory nature is 1 year.
How do I file a complaint?
The way to complain differs depending on whether you know the person who committed the defamation.
You know the author
On the spot
You can go to a police station or a gendarme brigade of your choice.
The police or gendarmerie refer the complaint to the public prosecutor.
If the police or gendarmerie refuse to take your domestic violence complaint, you can alert the competent control authorities.
Submit online to the Inspectorate General of the National Police
Contact the Inspectorate General of the National Gendarmerie online
By mail
You can file a complaint with the public prosecutor.
To do this, you must send an email to the court of law of the place of the offense or of the domicile of the offender.
Who shall I contact
Your mail should include the following:
- Your marital status and full contact information (address and telephone number)
- Detailed account of the facts, date and place of the offense
- Name of the alleged perpetrator if known (otherwise, the complaint will be filed against X)
- Name and address of any witnesses to the offense
- Description and provisional or definitive estimate of the damage
- Your proof documents: medical certificates, work stoppages, photographs, videos, miscellaneous invoices, findings, etc.
You can use the following mail template:
File a complaint with the public prosecutor
You can send your complaint by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by simple letter or by letter followed.
You can also file your complaint directly at the courthouse.
In any case, a receipt is given to you as soon as the Public Prosecutor's Office has registered your complaint.
You don't know the author
If the author of the comments is unknown, you cannot use the direct citation procedure, but you can file a complaint.
In this case, you have to file a complaint against X, whether it's a simple complaint or a civil party claim.
You can file a civil party complaint in cases of public defamation.
In case of non-public defamation, you can make a civil party claim only if your simple complaint has been dismissed or unanswered for 3 months.
To file a complaint, you must go to the police station or to the gendarme of your choice.
Who shall I contact
Police or gendarmerie services are obliged to register your complaint if you are a victim of infringement.
The complaint is then forwarded to the public prosecutor for him to decide on what to do next (investigation, no follow-up classification, etc.).
If you don't know the perpetrator, you can fill out a online pre-complaint before you move.
Then you need to sign your complaint on-site in the police station or the gendarmerie brigade that you chose.
You can also file a complaint by mail.
You can file a complaint with the public prosecutor.
To do this, you must send an email to the court of law of the place of the offense or of the domicile of the offender.
Who shall I contact
Your mail should include the following:
- Your marital status and full contact information (address and telephone number)
- Detailed account of the facts, date and place of the offense
- Name of the alleged perpetrator if known (otherwise, the complaint will be filed against X)
- Name and address of any witnesses to the offense
- Description and provisional or definitive estimate of the damage
- Your proof documents: medical certificates, work stoppages, photographs, videos, miscellaneous invoices, findings, etc.
You can use the following mail template:
File a complaint with the public prosecutor
You can send your complaint by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by simple letter or by letter followed.
You can also file your complaint directly at the courthouse.
In any case, a receipt is given to you as soon as the Public Prosecutor's Office has registered your complaint.
FYI
if the comments were made on the internet, you can ask a host removal of defamatory content (e.g. a video).
The police or gendarmerie investigates the case to gather evidence and forwards the results to the public prosecutor.
The public prosecutor may decide to dismiss the case, refer the case to an investigative judge for further investigation, or refer the case to the court.
The person accused of defamation can defend himself by pleading his immunity, his good faith and the veracity of the alleged facts.
Immunity
Immunity allows a person who has committed an offense infringement not to be sentenced to the penalty provided for by law.
Example :
Foreigners diplomats enjoy diplomatic immunity in France, and this allows them to avoid criminal sanctions when they commit offenses, including road traffic offenses.
Similarly, anyone who has published defamatory statements against you and whose responsibility is established by the criminal judge may be acquitted, if he enjoys immunity.
Parliamentary immunity prevents the judiciary from condemning deputies and senators for defamatory remarks made during debates in the National Assembly and the Senate.
Immunity from prosecution prevents the judiciary from convicting a person for defamatory speech in a trial.
Good faith
The person you accuse of defaming you can use his good faith.
This may allow her to escape conviction even if it is established by the courts that she committed the defamation.
Good faith requires a combination of the following four criteria:
- Caution and measure in expression, without exaggeration in the speech
- No personal conflict with you
- Presence of a legitimate purpose: for example, to report on a health scandal
- Seriousness of the investigation (distinct from the truth of the remarks). The accusations of the author of the remarks, whether he is a journalist or not, must be based on solid facts, even if he was ultimately wrong. He must prove that he did not make these accusations randomly or deliberately lie.
Proof of the truth
The person you accuse of defaming you can defend himself by arguing that the facts are true and offering to adduce the evidence.
The court can accept his application under certain conditions.
The proof of the truth of the facts must be complete, perfect, complete and linked to the defamatory imputations in all their scope, for the repressive court to pronounce the release.
Any evidence regularly served by the parties is acceptable to the court.
The accused person may thus produce evidence arising from a breach of the confidentiality of the investigation or inquiry or of any other professional secrecy.
Please note
the person you accuse of defamation is not allowed to bring evidence about facts relating to your privacy, unless the defamation relates to a infringement sexual on minor.
The situation varies depending on the public or non-public character of the defamation, the person targeted and whether there is a racist or discriminatory motive.
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Non-public defamation
The penalty depends on whether the defamation is racist or discriminatory.
General case
Non-public defamation against a person or group of persons or against a public authority shall be punishable by a €38 maximum.
Defamation of a racist or discriminatory nature
Non-public defamation of a racist or discriminatory nature is punishable by a €1,500 maximum.
Persons convicted of non-public defamation of a racist or discriminatory nature may also be sentenced to one of the following additional penalties:
- Prohibition on the possession or carrying for a period of up to 3 years of a weapon subject to authorization
- Confiscation of one or more weapons owned or freely disposed of by the convicted person
- Confiscation of the thing used to commit the offenseinfringement or of the thing which is the product of it
- Work of general interest for 20 to 120 hours
- Obligation to complete a citizenship internship
Public defamation
The penalty depends on whether the defamation is directed against a public authority and whether or not it is racist or discriminatory.
General case
Public defamation of a private person or group of private persons is punishable by a fine of €12,000.
Defamation against a public authority
Public defamation against a local elected official, a parliamentarian, a police officer, a gendarme or a magistrate because of his duties is punishable by a fine of €45,000.
The same penalty shall apply if the defamation is directed against a public official defamed for his duties.
Defamation of a racist or discriminatory nature
Racist or discriminatory public defamation is punishable by 1 year imprisonment and €45,000 of fine.
You can ask the court to convict the person prosecuted for the defamation to pay you defamation fees. damages.
You can make the claim for compensation before the criminal court that considers the question of guilt by making a formation of civil party.
The criminal judge will be able to award you damages if he finds the suspect guilty.
If you haven't made the claim before the criminal judge, you can still do so before the court of law, provided that the criminal judgment has recognized the guilt of the suspect.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service
For more information on this topic, you can contact Allô Service Public.
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The informants who answer you are from the Department of Justice.
Definition of insult and defamation
Penalties for public defamation
Penalty for public insult
Penalties for non-public defamation
Penalties for non-public insult
Penalty for non-public defamation of a discriminatory nature
Penalty for discriminatory non-public insult
Limitation period for press offenses of a discriminatory nature
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