François-Xavier Lefranc, publishing director and chairman of the board of Ouest-France, said on Wednesday November 20 on franceinfo, “stunned that so many politicians choose platform X to express themselves.” The publishing director and chairman of the board of Ouest-France, François-Xavier Lefranc, explains the reasons which pushed France's leading daily to follow in the footsteps of the British newspaper The Guardian et The Vanguard in Spain, by no longer publishing its content on Elon Musk's X platform. “We need to think about where we put these words when we defend humanist values. We defend humanist democracy, we cannot accept such a lawless zone, he explains. The journalist, however, underlined “Europe's efforts”. According to him, the Digital Services Act (DSA) “was a big step forward“. “The law is there, but it must now be applied“, he insists.
franceinfo: Why did Ouest-France leave the X platform?
François-Xavier Lefranc: We've been thinking about this for a long time. We had also decided to publish less and less information about on his network. It becomes an extremely dangerous tool that spreads a lot of false information, but above all, destroys people. It's a space where we are insulted, we are threatened.
But isn't this new?
We defend humanist democracy, and we cannot accept such a lawless zone. The law stops at the entrance to X. It has become a lawless zone. You cannot assert your rights when you are a citizen and you are attacked on X. You cannot attack X because it is a broadcaster which is not responsible for its content, and you cannot attack anonymous accounts since it is very hard to remove anonymity. We accepted that. It's frightening!
Do you think this could push Elon Musk toward more moderation?
He couldn't care less. Besides, the object is not to convince Elon Musk, but to be in conformity with what we defend. We must fight for true information, for fair information. We must fight for the dignity of people. This is the fight we are waging, and it cannot be done in a universe as deregulated as this one. Every human society needs law. It needs the law to be there to regulate, to respect the fundamental rights of people, and on X, it has become quite the opposite.
“I am also appalled that so many politicians choose platform X to express themselves. We need to think about where we put these words when we defend humanist and democratic values.”
François-Xavier Lefrancfranceinfo
Isn't it better to resist from within?
We cannot resist from the inside. We can stay on X, it will change absolutely nothing. The only way to resolve this issue is for the law to apply, and the law does not apply to X. Our democracy should not have accepted it. Politicians, the media, journalists, many of us express ourselves on X. We need to think carefully about what this space has become and what we defend. What is astonishing is that social networks could be fantastic tools for democracy. I find it great that anyone can speak up, express themselves and carry their word far, but regulation is needed.
This means that West France will no longer understand what is said about X?
We will no longer broadcast our content on X, and we have deleted a certain number of accounts. Employees are also free to have an account or not, but not to refer to West France. What is said about X, what is said in public space, we obviously listen. I don't judge people who wish to express themselves on X. I myself did it for a long time. Everyone is free to do so, but we feel that we have other things to do and we prefer to distribute our content in other processes.
Is this a message that you are sending to the government and to Brussels so that they establish real control of X?
Yes. Europe's efforts must be highlighted because the Digital Services Act (DSA) was a major step forward. If Europe were not there, it would be even worse. But despite the DSA, people are destroyed every day on X. Justice should have many more means to move forward. The law is there, but it must now be applied. This is what we are asking.
