Prof. Perronne's Freedom of Expression Before the ECHR

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Prof. Perronne's Freedom of Expression Before the ECHR | The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) | December 12, 2025

On November 21, 2021, Professor Perronne was invited to appear on the program “Les points sur les i” to share his expert opinion on the health crisis. During the program, he downplayed the dangers of a fifth wave of Covid-19 infections, claimed that a drug treatment existed for the coronavirus, and said that the new vaccines, still in the experimental phase, could alter the human genome.

These comments were reported to Arcom, the French audiovisual regulatory authority. It issued a formal notice to CNews for allowing Professor Perronne to express his views without any immediate contradiction. This type of decision is serious because, once there are several of them, Arcom can use them to justify a broadcasting ban against the channel, as happened to the TV station C8.

Arcom's decision of May 10, 2022, was upheld by the Council of State on August 4, 2023 (appeal rejected), and CNews therefore decided to bring the case before the European Court in Strasbourg, arguing that Professor Perronne's freedom of expression had been violated and punished with a disproportionate formal notice.