Macron urges legislation change over 'false information' on internet

President Emmanuel Macron called on Friday for changes to French legislation that would allow "false information" online to be urgently blocked.

Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, have long been targeted by false online claims that she was born a man.

The French government has also repeatedly warned the public over Russian disinformation campaigns in Europe that have grown in intensity since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Macron said he asked the government for proposals to introduce summary proceedings against "false information" or "information that is harmful" to a person's dignity disseminated on social media.

"I held a defence council meeting on information warfare, where I asked for help with a task that needs to be completed by the end of the year," he said in the northeastern town of Mirecourt.

Macron said that he wanted to enshrine the procedure in French law "as soon as possible" as he spoke to regional press audiences about the impact of social media.

The event was part of a wider tour following earlier meetings with French people in the southwestern city of Toulouse and Arras in the north.

Macron gave examples of the misinformation he wanted to act against, such as a false claim circulating that France had sent 1,000 legionnaires to the front in Ukraine. 

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"You may have read it, maybe even believed it for a moment," Macron said. "All of that was completely false."

He also said that he himself had been "personally" confronted by online harassment, with his wife Brigitte "even more so".

"We are completely powerless. It takes an enormous amount of time, it continues, people see it, and there are those who are foolish enough to believe it is true," he said. "And that undermines you."

Macron said that it was important to be able to ask a judge "to rule within 48 hours" and force the alleged harasser to take down their posts.

The Macrons have filed a legal case in the United States against conservative American commentator Candace Owens, whom they accuse of fanning online misinformation she is a transgender woman. 

The couple are planning to offer "scientific" evidence and photos proving that France's first lady is a woman, according to their US lawyer.

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