See also: AFP

The Agence France-Press (AFP) is most important French News agency . It is also the third agency on a world level.

History

The Agency France-Press was created with the Libération of Paris by an ordinance of the September 30th 1944. This public corporation replaces the French Office of information (OFI) created by the Vichy government starting from the branch of the Agence Havas specialized in information.

It is also in a certain manner the heiress of the resistant agencies formed during the German Occupation, as the French Agency of information (AFI) impetus with London in 1940, the France-Africa Agency with Algiers in 1942, and the Agency of information and documentation (AID) in occupied Zone in April 1944.

The years of post-war period are devoted to the recasting of a domestic network and international as powerful as that of feue the agency Havas. The efforts pay since AFP is the first media Occidental to announce the death of Joseph Stalin, the March 6th 1953 after having learned the news thanks to its service from listening of the radios of Moscow and other capitals of Eastern Europe.

AFP to then wish to become autonomous, and either a semi-governmental agency. This wish is exaucé the January 10th 1957, thanks to the vote of a specific law on its statute. Jean Marin is the first president elected according to the new methods. He will keep his station until in 1975, developing the network, average the most modern techniques, and customers increasingly broader. Thus in 1971, AFP uses the satellite to transmit its dispatches. In 1973, the board of directors decides to computerize the drafting, a plan which will enter in work starting from 1975.

Starting from the Years 1980, AFP develops new products, misant on diversification. In 1985, it founds its international photo service. In 1988, it launches its computer graphics. So that in 1991, the Turnover exceeds the threshold of the billion francs, at the same time as the share of the State in this figure passes under the bar of the 50%. In 1996, AFP delivers a newspaper Internet turn-key. In 2000, appear the animated computer graphics, for Internet. In text, the number of languages increases: the last is the Italy N, in 2001. AFP is also decentralized, opening independent regional managements with HongKong in 1982 or Montevideo in 1997. Lately, it invested to develop a powerful video service.

Presentation

AFP, greater news agency French-speaking, is the third with the world plan, behind the American agency Associated Press (AP) and it British Reuters.

The seat of AFP is with Paris, it has a network of 110 offices in 165 countries gathered in five great regional centres:

In 2004, AFP counts 2.000 collaborators (1 200 Journaliste S including 200 Photographe S), and 2.000 Pigiste S divided on the five continents and of 81 nationalities.

The French State is traditionally its first customer (nearly 40% of the Turnover in 2004) for the supply of Information to the bodies Gouvernement with, mainly the Ministère S, the Préfecture S and the Ambassade S. the remainder is distributed between the priority market of the Agency, that of the Média S and bodies of information throughout the world. Come then from the Entreprise S in other sectors.

AFP provides information in the form of texts (in six languages), of Photographie S, Infographie S and Vidéo S.

Statute

AFP has a particular status defined by the law of the January 10th 1957. Thus it is “ an autonomous organization equipped with the civil personality and whose operation is ensured according to the commercial rules ”. Its mission is thus “ to seek both in France and abroad the elements of complete information and objectifies ” and “ to place them at the disposal of the users ”. The Council of State qualified it body of private law Sui generis in an opinion of assembly of the June 10th 2004 relating to the legal status of the seat of the Agency. All in all, the specialists in public Droit however endeavor to make a person of public law of it sui generis or unnamed (Jean Waline).

AFP is managed by a Board of directors of 16 members:

  • 8 representatives of the directors of French companies of publication of daily newspapers
  • 2 staff representatives of AFP
  • 2 representatives of French broadcasting-television
  • 3 representatives of the public services: the Prime Minister, the Minister for the economy, finances and industry and the Foreign Minister naming each one a representative.
  • the Chairman and managing director (chairman), chosen by the Board of directors apart from its members, elected by at least 12 votes for a one 3 years duration renewable mandate.

The law of 1957 also established a superior council of 8 members, which takes care of the achievement by the AFP of the mission which is assigned to him by its statutes; this one is likely to receive complaints of the users or professionals, and to sanction chairman. He is generally described of special administrative jurisdiction (Jean Waline) or as independent administrative authority (Report/ratio 2001 of the Council of State).

Finally a financial commission made up of two members of the Court of Auditors and an expert appointed by the Minister for the economy and finances supervises its financial management.

Its particular status authorizes it not to have of director of the publication. She thus escapes the traditional system from the criminal responsibility in cascade envisaged by the law of 1881 on the Freedom of the press. The chairman of AFP is not therefore responsible for the writings of his agenciers.

Financing

AFP does not have capital, nor shareholders, only of equipments of equities. Its statute prohibits to him to be directly subsidized by the State, which would question its independence. It thus depends on its only commercial resources, but 40% of its turnover in 2004 come from the subscriptions of public services depending on the French government. As first customer and an important member of the board of directors, in fact the State fixes itself the price of its subscription, according to the means which he wants to allot to the Agency. Each year during the discussion of the budget, the representatives of the State have a casting vote indeed. It is thus about a system of disguised subsidizing. In spite of this financial weight of the State, the Journaliste S assert the absolute independence of the leading line of the agency.

In November 2003, the company signed with the State a Contract of objectives and means to restore from here 2007 an alarming financial position. This one involved besides the sale by Crédit-bail of the historical seat of the Agency (place of the Stock Exchange in Paris).

Presidents

Anecdotes

  • In July 2006, with a view to democratization of information, before media treatment, began an experiment from mural projection of the AFP dispatches in real-time and uninterrupted, in space “Life of the citizen” of the library of the Free fields, new cultural equipment of Rennes.
  • In November 2007, AFP announced to have put a foot in journalism citizen while investing in Scooplive, one of the first news agencies for amateurs, thus forming the company Citizenside.

Reference

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