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Online Journalism News

French government launches anti-war site

Posted: 31/03/03 By: Caroline White
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The media battle over Iraq has heated up further with the French government's announcement that it is setting up a special web site devoted to war coverage.

At the same time a French broadcasting company, CanalSatellite, has started offering its subscribers free access to controversial TV network Al-Jazeera, whose site became the victim of pro-US hackers last week.

The Arabic satellite broadcaster has also been heavily criticised by US and UK politicians for showing pictures of captured and dead allied soldiers.

Announcing the launch of www.special.diplomatie.fr by the French foreign affairs ministry, spokesman François Rivasseau said: "French authorities hope that everything will be done so that [Iraq's] civilian populations will be spared additional hardships. They call on the countries of the region to abstain from all actions that might aggravate the situation - they desire that the conflict that has just begun will cease as rapidly as possible.

"French authorities continue to be particularly attentive to the security of French citizens abroad and follow the evolution of the situation with the greatest attention."

The site will carry up-to-the-minute news and updates, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as well as government statements on the war.

Among others, it includes French President Jacques Chirac criticising the use of pre-emptive strikes against Iraq: "Right to the end, France, with many other countries, strove to convince that the necessary disarmament of Iraq could be obtained by peaceful means," said Mr Chirac.

"These came to nothing. Regardless of the duration of this conflict, it will be fraught with consequences for the future. But France, true to her principles - primacy of the law, fairness, dialogue between peoples and respect for others - will continue to do what she can to ensure that fair, long-tem solutions are found to the crises bathing the world in blood."

Meanwhile, more than 20,000 web sites have been hacked since the war began. Despite attacks from both political perspectives the majority of messages continue to be anti-war, according to Finnish web security firm F-Secure.

Sources:
http://special.diplomatie.fr/article_gb191.html
http://www.brandrepublic.com/digitalbulletin/news_story.cfm?articleID=175227&Origin=DB27032003
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2888589.stm