The Guardian’s media writer Roy Greenslade reported Sept. 23 that Reporters without Borders is supporting French newspaper Le Monde in a complaint “alleging  that President Sarkozy’s aides violated a law protecting the confidentiality of journalists’ sources.”

See Le Monde’s story about Nicolas Sarkozy in French here and a Google translate of the article here.

Reporters without Borders signed on as a joint plaintiff.

On Reporters without Borders’ website, the French-based international nonprofit advocacy group wrote Sept. 13 that it is “very disturbed by Le Monde’s claims.”  The French newspaper had reported that “presidential aides directly violated the law on the secrecy of sources by using a domestic intelligence agency to identify an official who was leaking information about a judicial investigation into a case involving labour minister Eric Woerth and L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.”

The Sept. 13 Reporters without Borders article further stated that the group would support Le Monde and that ““These allegations must be treated with the utmost seriousness,” especially since French president Nicolas Sarkozy had promised in his campaign to protect journalists’ sources.

“It would be intolerable if the Elysée Palace were the first to break a law requested by the president,” Reporters without Borders explained.

Reporters without Borders also noted in a Sept. 21 article on its site that the advocacy organization had “campaigned for years for a law explicitly protecting” journalists’ confidential sources.