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Should you have to pay to use a radio-electric frequency? Until now the question has been left unanswered in France. Since the Decree of 22 May 1997 on the fee payable by licensees of radio-electric frequencies, an annual fee must be paid for "access and management" of the frequencies. It will be for the national frequencies agency (Agence Nationale des Fréquences - ANF) to determine the amount of the fee payable by each licensee and to issue the corresponding demands for payment. Are all users of frequencies subject to the provisions of the Decree of 22 May 1997? No; the Decree contains one very...

The association AGRIF (general alliance against racism and for the respect of the French and Christian identity), after attempting without success some years ago to have Jean-Luc Godard's film "Je vous salue Marie" ("Hail Mary") banned from general release, recently petitioned the judge for urgent matters to ban its broadcast on the Arte channel at 11.30 pm. The applicants maintained that broadcasting of the film was likely to hurt the members of the association in their beliefs and in their feelings, but also to disturb many viewers who respected spiritual values. In support of its petition, the...

In a decision of 20 March 1997 the Court of Appeal in Aix-en-Provence has severely reminded the company E. Leclerc of the conditions for the legality of comparative advertising. Without notifying its direct competitor Carrefour , the company had issued posters showing two shopping trolleys filled with foodstuffs bearing the labels E. Leclerc and Carrefour . The second, which was much smaller than the first, was marked "E. Leclerc cheaper than Carrefour Vitrolles" and "prices for first quarter 93". The Court of Appeal, upholding the judgment of the court of first instance, penalised the failure...

In 1996, for the first time ever, a rap group was taken to court for the content of its songs. Following a concert during which the group NTM sang violent words about police institutions, the Public Prosecutor at the Regional Court in Toulon started proceedings against the two singers. The verdict of the judges in the initial proceedings, sentencing the two performers to three months' imprisonment and six months' ban on singing on the basis of Articles 433-5 and 433-22 of the Criminal Code which sanctions insulting a public servant, was considered severe by observers, particularly as the facts...

Brussels and GATT meetings are not the only places where there is talk of quotas; the subject also came up at the Conseil d'État in a decision dated 5 March 1997. Private rights collecting societies of performing artists and authors felt that the television channels TF1, M6 and La Cinq (which has since ceased to exist) were not respecting the obligations imposed on them regarding the production and broadcasting of works produced within the Community or in French. The rights collecting societies called on the Conseil supérieur de l'Audiovisuel (CSA - the government radio and television monitoring...