Strasbourg - The European Court of Human Rights condemned France yesterday for violating the free-speech rights of the satirical weekly, Le Canard Enchaine.
The European Court found French courts violated the European Human Rights Convention by fining Le Canard 15,000 francs (£1,800) in 1993 for publishing tax forms of Mr Jacques Calvet, then head of the Peugeot car company. An appeals court ruled it violated Mr Calvet's privacy despite lawyers' arguments that anyone is entitled to consult public tax rolls.
The journal published the tax form during a strike at Peugeot about pay demands. The tax form showed Mr Calvet's own salary had increased by nearly 50 per cent in two years and was more than Fr2 million a year.
The European Court sentenced the French state to pay the weekly Fr10,001 in damages and Fr60,000 in costs.