France's presidential press association put out a rare statement blasting French leader Emmanuel Macron's decision to follow through with a plan to relocate the press corps' working space outside the Elysee Palace, saying the move "harms freedom of the press."
"At a time [the press] is attacked from all fronts, this unilateral decision is incomprehensible and unacceptable," the Paris-based association said in a statement Thursday. Macron is "trampling on a tradition of transparency" and behaving like "the owner and not the tenant" of the Elysee presidential palace.
The association's statement follows Macron's office announcement late Wednesday that the president was going ahead with a plan to evict journalists covering the presidency from the long-standing press corps office located in the courtyard of the Elysee Palace. The presidency announced the decision despite repeated criticism that it might restrict media access to information.
A spokesman at the Elysee Palace declined to comment.
The press room -- which was first established inside the courtyard of the 18th-century building in the mid-1970s -- is to be moved to a nearby street by the end of the year. The new office will be located in a building owned by the presidency and not part of the original palace compound.
"This new press room will offer improved working conditions for a greater number of journalists," Macron's team said in the announcement.
All four major news agencies with permanent accreditation to the French presidency had penned a joint letter earlier this year calling for the presidency to reverse its decision.
The 40-year-old head of state, who won the 2017 election with a call to modernize France, has had a troubled relationship with the media since assuming office. This summer he was critical of its coverage of a scandal involving a rogue bodyguard.
U.S. President Donald Trump scrapped a plan to move news briefings out of the White House last year after journalists and the White House press association objected.
According to Reporters Without Borders, France ranks 33rd for press freedom. Norway is first, the U.S. is 45th and Germany is 15th.
A Section on 10/26/2018