Paris (AFP)
The telephone conversation of a Canard Enchaîné journalist with a magistrate was listened to and transcribed in 2014 as part of the so-called "Paul Bismuth" case, the weekly reveals in its edition to be published on Wednesday.
The newspaper publishes an extract from a report which transcribes a conversation of March 9, 2014 between his judicial columnist Dominique Simonnot and a magistrate who wishes to speak on condition of anonymity.
The latter's mobile line was then tapped as part of a judicial investigation conducted by judges Patricia Simon and Claire Thépaut, targeting Nicolas Sarkozy and his lawyer on suspicion of corruption of a high magistrate, Gilbert Azibert. The trial is scheduled for Paris from November 23.
"Goodbye the protection of the secrecy of sources, however sacred and guaranteed by the law on the press, the European Convention on Human Rights and the jurisprudence", denounces the satirical newspaper.
"Bypassing the ban is a breeze," notes the Duck in chains, since "the investigators carefully omitted to mention the job of the interlocutor: journalist".
"Otherwise this conversation could not have been listened to and even less transcribed," concludes the newspaper.
"We are thinking about how to mark the blow on what is, for us and for all the journalists, a real scandal attacking the secrecy of the sources", reacted the journalist joined by AFP.
"We are not filing a complaint at this time," said publication director Nicolas Brimo. "We are too afraid that there will be a new investigation ...", he joked, but "it shows that we are sitting on the protection of sources".
According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, correspondence with a journalist enabling a source to be identified in violation of article 2 of the law of July 29, 1881 on freedom of the press cannot be transcribed, under penalty of nullity.
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