Can Paris really sue Fox?

If you have been wondering how the hell Paris would sue Fox New over its coverage of recent events there, as it has threatened, you may find this interesting:

Poynter -  It’s unlikely that Paris will be successful in its suit for a couple of reasons, said Anthony L. Fargo, an international press freedom expert and director of the Center for International Media Law and Policy Studies. First, it’s unclear whether French courts have any jurisdiction over Fox News, an American news network. Second, it’s unlikely the case would be successful in the United States because governmental bodies — like cities — can’t sue for defamation.

“So it sounds like a symbolic gesture to me, if I had to guess,” Fargo said.

The idea of a lawsuit like the one France is proposing being successful in the U.S. is “absurd,” said Gregg Leslie, legal defense director for Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press.

“I have no idea how it would fare in the French court, but this is exactly the kind of thing the First Amendment is designed to protect against,” Leslie said.

Eugene Volokh, Washington Post - This sort of claim, even cast as a libel claim, certainly wouldn’t be allowable in the United States. Government entities are categorically barred by the First Amendment from suing for libel; it’s not just that they have to show that the speaker knew the statement was likely false (the standard for lawsuits by government officials) — they can’t sue at all.

Now, the rules in France might well be different, and I don’t know whether they are. And though such a French judgment couldn’t be enforced in American courts, because it doesn’t comport with First Amendment norms, Fox likely has assets in France that perhaps could be seized.

But if you want to further “prejudice” the “image” of Paris — and France more generally — in the United States, it’s hard to imagine a better means than by suing it on these grounds. Instead of being seen as a city that was incorrectly accused of having “no-go zones,” Paris will be seen as a city that tries to use its country’s speech-restrictive laws (again, assuming French laws authorize such a claim) to go after foreign media. Big improvement!

And that’s especially so given the obvious implications of such a lawsuit: Imagine a world in which governments whose “honor” and “image” has supposedly been “prejudiced” by allegedly false statements start trying to impose legal consequences on the speakers — with the decisions about truth or falsity made by the legal system of the very country that was supposedly dishonored (or the capital of which was supposedly dishonored). Can’t say that this is a wise proposal on the Paris mayor’s part.