France-Soir
When AFP and the media betray their duty to inform: General Pellizzari's right of reply
On this symbolic day of May 8, 2025, General Paul Pellizzari, driven by his respect for the law, the French people and his opposition to the war sees his honor sullied by the medias that disseminate without verifying erroneous information. Agence France-Presse (AFP), L'Essor de la Gendarmerie, Le Parisien and the media relaying the AFP release have spread erroneous information about General Pellizzari, and his dismissal from the army in April 2025.
In violation of the Munich Charter and their own ethical commitments, AFP and these media outlets relayed erroneous, damaging information without verification. AFP refused to correct them despite the alert of France-Soir. Faced with their mistakes and in compliance with press law, L'Essor and Le Parisien have published the right of reply of General Pellizzari, but AFP persists in its silence.
L'Essor at the origin, AFP amplifies the error
On April 22, 2025, L'Essor de la Gendarmerie published an article claiming that General Paul Pellizzari, disbarred for "breach of the duty of reserve", was "associated" with a controversial op-ed published by Valeurs Actuelles in April 2021. The next day, on April 23, AFP took up this information in a dispatch entitled "Two former generals disbarred for breach of the duty of reserve", without verifying its veracity. This dispatch, relayed by many media, including Le Parisien, adds that the disbarment would be linked to or caused by this tribune and that the criminal complaint filed by the General in 2024 would have been dismissed without further action.
These claims are false. The 2021 tribune, a freely accessible public document, does not mention General Pellizzari's signature or association. His removal from the list is in fact the result of a criminal complaint filed in 2024 against several ministers for illegal delivery of weapons to Ukraine, a complaint declared inadmissible, but not dismissed without further action, as evidenced by the General's rights of reply published by Le Parisien (May 6, 2025) and L'Essor (May 7, 2025).
General Pellizzari's right of response published by L'Essor and Le Parisien and his unwavering commitment to the respect of the law and the French people
More than 15 rights of reply had to be sent by General Pellizzari. To date, apart from the two sites mentioned above, the other media outlets that have taken up the AFP dispatch, without verifying the veracity of its content, have not yet published the right of reply. Here is General Pellizzari's answer:
"On April 16, 2025, alongside 67 other soldiers, Mr. PELLIZZARI, Brigadier General 2S, an expert in military logistics, had a bailiff serve on the Presidents of the two Assemblies a symbolic citizens' resolution calling for the respect of Articles 35 and 53 of the Constitution, with regard to France's military and financial commitment in Ukraine. Relayed by more than 20,000 people and various associations, this resolution was officially tabled on April 24, 2025 by Senator Houpert and registered by the Senate under number 547. The Government is required to take a swift decision on its inclusion on the agenda.On 23 April 2025, Mr PELLIZZARI learned from the press of the publication in the Official Journal of a presidential decree of 17 April pronouncing his dismissal from the cadre for disciplinary measures. To date, no individual notification, although required by law, has been sent to it.
This disciplinary procedure, initiated in December 2024, does not follow his participation in"a controversial forum in 2021"of which he is not a signatory, but the criminal complaint he filed before the Court of Justice of the Republic against Messrs. Attal, Séjourné and Lecornu for illegal delivery of weapons to Ukraine since 2022. This complaint was not dismissed, but declared inadmissible in April 2024, on the grounds that the offence denounced would harm the public interest and not the particular interest of Mr PELLIZZARI, so that it must be prosecuted by the Public Prosecutor's Office. This is why, in May 2024, he gave formal notice to the Attorney General to initiate proceedings. The latter has not yet responded, but the statute of limitations for crimes is thirty years.
Considering his removal as a measure of illegal retaliation related to his complaint, he intends to contest it before the Council of State".
The citizens' resolution on France's military and financial commitment in Ukraine, of which General Pellizzari is one of the first signatories, has already received more than 28,800 supporters on the Place d'Armes site. Having heard the voice of the French people, Senator Houpert has tabled a motion for a resolution on France's commitment to Ukraine on the Senate's table.
Flagrant ethical violations
By publishing this information without verification, L'Essor and AFP violated Article 2 of the Munich Charter, which requires journalists to "verify the accuracy of the information". AFP, in particular, has failed to meet its own ethical commitments:
- Its charter (paragraph 2) requires a rigorous verification of the facts.
- Its Charter of Good Editorial Practices (Guideline 5) states: "We have a duty to seek the truth of the facts, and not to passively report information as it presents itself to us." The "Corrections" paragraph of this charter states: "AFP must correct its errors quickly and transparently, even if days or weeks have passed."
Despite these obligations, AFP was content to repeat the erroneous information from L'Essor without consulting the 2021 tribune, which is easily accessible. Le Parisien, by relaying the AFP dispatch without verification, also contributed to propagating this error, amplifying the damage to the image suffered by General Pellizzari.
France-Soir alerts, AFP ignores
As early as April 25, 2025, France-Soir, an AFP subscriber, alerted the agency by email to these inaccuracies, requesting a rectification and authorization to modify the dispatch, in accordance with article 4.2 of the subscription contract reproduced below:
In its April 30 response, AFP denied any inaccuracy, arguing that General Pellizzari was not presented as a signatory, but as an "associate" of the tribune. This semantic distinction does not change the factual error or the harm caused.
"Please note that General Paul Pellizzari is not presented as a signatory of the April 2021 op-ed. We have cited the Essor de la gendarmerie which mentions him as being associated with this tribune. Our dispatch therefore does not include any inaccuracy," replied AFP.
Faced with this refusal, France-Soir sent a formal notice to AFP on April 30, 2025. A second formal notice, sent on May 7, 2025, reiterates the request for rectification, supported by the rights of reply published by Le Parisien and L'Essor, which confirm the errors of the initial dispatch. To date, AFP has not followed up, in violation of its contractual and ethical obligation to correct the reported errors.
Disinformation spread aggravated by the role of AFP
AFP's central role in disseminating information makes its shortcomings all the more serious. By refusing to correct its dispatch, AFP prevents its subscribers, such as Le Parisien, from publishing accurate information, due to contractual restrictions prohibiting the modification of dispatches without authorisation. This mechanism has led to a massive spread of misinformation among the readers of these media, with direct consequences for General Pellizzari's reputation.
In addition, AFP cannot claim not to have been informed of General Pellizzari's whistleblower actions, having been the recipient of General Pellizzari's press release. AFP received it on June 5, 2024 and chose not to relay it.
Towards legal action?
France-Soir, determined to ensure that AFP's obligations are respected, plans to refer the matter to the courts for summary proceedings if the agency does not broadcast a corrective dispatch within 48 hours, as required in the formal notice of May 7, 2025, received the same day by AFP's legal department. This case highlights the excesses of certain media which, under the pretext of urgency, neglect their duties of verification and correction, flouting the fundamental principles of journalism.
On May 8, the day of commemoration of peace, France-Soir calls on the media to honor their duty of truth, especially when they are financed by public funds, and to assume their responsibility in the fight against disinformation.