by Martin Harrison
Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford
During the Algerian war, the French Government seems regularly to have seized newspapers which have displeased it. Sometimes papers have been almost bankrupted by constant seizures. Martin Harrison believes that in spite of this state interference French papers can be outspoken to a greater degree than those of almost any other country in Europe. He feels, however, that in recent years part of the French press has indulged in too much self-censorship, has been too hesitant to delve deep to seek the truth.