France’s National Rally (RN) president Jordan Bardella has claimed he is the target of “censorship” after adverts for his new book, Ce que je cherche (What I’m looking for’), were barred from display in French train stations and subways.
MediaTransports, the advertising agency that represents the railway network SNCF — France’s national state-owned railway company — confirmed on October 28 that the ads would not run, citing principles of neutrality as required by public service regulations.
Following the decision, Bardella alleged that pressure from far-left trade unions was behind the cancellation.
“At the call of far-left trade unionists, SNCF has censored my book campaign, planned by Editions Fayard,” he stated.
Editions Fayard is a Paris-based publishing house controlled by Hachette Livre.
Bardella argued that SNCF’s compliance with “a minority of radicalised activists” constituted a serious violation of freedom of speech, warning: “Today, my voice is being silenced but, tomorrow, it will be others.”
He also questioned the neutrality of French public services, saying it was “today endangered by the management of a major public service company and by ideological pressure groups with totalitarian methods seeking to impose a single way of thinking”.
In response, MediaTransports stated that the advertisement violated the “principles of neutrality”, which prohibits political promotion in public-service spaces.
“Advertising a book by a political figure or party leader breaches this neutrality,” MediaTransports’ spokeswoman Alexandra Lafay told Brussels Signal on October 28, emphasising that such constraint was, in her view, widely recognised and accepted within the industry.
“Our position would have been the same with any political party,” she added.
Bardella’s statement followed a letter from the union Sud-Rail demanding that SNCF scrap his ad campaign.
“We will never allow the far-right to campaign in our stations. SNCF management must intervene immediately,” Sud-Rail declared on October 16.
It also pointed to Bardella’s publisher, Editions Fayard, being part of Hachette, a company owned by Vincent Bolloré, whom the union had criticised for allegedly supporting far-right movements through Bolloré’s media assets.
“Billionaire Bolloré is putting his media empire at the service of the far right, after betting everything on Zemmour and Reconquête during the 2022 presidential elections,” it said.
Contacted by Brussels Signal, SNCF did not comment specifically regarding union pressure and referred the matter to MediaTransports.
“As this is a MediaTransports’ decision, we advise you to contact their communications department,” SNFC said.
Media reports have noted this was not the first time SNCF had blocked an ad campaign on political grounds.
The gay magazine Têtu’s cover, featuring French singer-songwriter Bilal Hassani depicted in a religious pose, was also rejected for what was described as its “confessional nature”.
French actor and comedian Waly Dia also saw ads for his one-man show Une heure à tuer (An hour to kill) forbidden on public transport in the Paris region.
MediaTransports banned distribution of the poster due to what it said was it being “incompatible with the duty of neutrality imposed on public transport and could be considered defamatory or insulting”.
“He had political messages on the poster, in particular, defamatory remarks about the President of the Republic” Lafay told Brussels Signal, referring to the fake tattoos on his face.
“Macron is like an alcoholic father, at home, he makes your life miserable, outside he puts you to shame”.
RN MEP Thierry Mariani echoed Bardella’s claims, alleging that similar ad campaigns had been permitted before, including one regarding former French president François Hollande.
MediaTransports refuted the comment, telling Brussels Signal: “It is not true.”
According to French media outlet Libération, the promotional poster campaign for Bardella’s book was scheduled in two phases: from November 25 to December 1, across 167 panels in 54 suburban subway stations.
Then, from December 11 to 17, that was to be expanded to 172 panels in 13 Paris stations and 242 panels in 43 stations outside the capital.
The tome is set to be published on November 9.