Milica Cubrilo Filipovic, a long-time correspondent for Le Figaro in Serbia, expects the termination of her cooperation next week. She claims the reason is her critical reporting on Serbia, while Le Figaro cites a breach of journalistic standards and “political activism” as the cause.
Milica Cubrilo Filipovic told N1 that a meeting with the director of Le Figaro’s legal department is scheduled for next week.
According to her, the official topic of the meeting remains unknown, but it will likely involve the termination of their cooperation. Why the human resources department was bypassed remains unclear.
She states that union representatives informed her this likely suggests the company recognises the complexity of the case and considers it safer to handle through the legal department.
She expects that during the meeting they will “talk about parting ways,” specifically to hear how the company interprets the situation and whether they plan to provide compensation or a severance package.
“They will either try not to give me anything at all or offer a bare minimum. That is how every corporation functions,” says Cubrilo Filipovic.
As a reminder, issues surfaced at the end of last year after she reported from protests in Serbia. She claims that Frederic Mondoloni, the former French Ambassador to Belgrade and current political director of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, allegedly mediated the termination of cooperation.
Mondoloni reportedly pointed out to one of the owners of Le Figaro, the French arms manufacturing company Dassault, from which Serbia is purchasing “Rafale” fighter jets, that they have a “politically active correspondent” in Belgrade, she tells us.
Cubrilo Filipovic points out that her status as a correspondent is not the same as a staff journalist in the newsroom, but although she is not a permanent employee of Le Figaro, as a long-term collaborator, under French law, she should be treated as if she were permanently employed.
“I assume I will need to have a lawyer or some kind of legal advisor,” says Cubrilo Filipovic.
She has not yet been officially dismissed, but says it is a matter of formality. She believes the firm wants it to appear as though she was not fired.
The union calls it a precedent
“However, I have proof, a written confirmation of what I was told. I received it from my editor, the editor of the ‘World’ section, and the deputy director of all newsrooms told me the same thing verbally,” the correspondent said.
She added that the union has taken her side, in the sense that what happened is a precedent, and that the owner should not interfere in human resources or employee matters in such a manner. That, as she points out, is not how things are done in France, or “at least it hasn’t been until now.”
“A few years ago, I asked colleagues how free they were to write whatever they wanted. They told me there are some boundaries. One of them is that in countries where ‘Rafales’ are sold, there shouldn’t be too much criticism. When Vucic, or rather Serbia, bought the ‘Rafales’, that news was written affirmatively by the deputy editor-in-chief. In the sense that in this way, Serbia is moving closer to the West. And that was it. It was never a rule that one could not report critically about a country buying ‘Rafales’. This is now simply too much,” assesses Milica Cubrilo Filipovic.
Le Figaro: Journalistic standards are the issue
In response to an inquiry from the N1 portal, Philippe Gelie, Deputy Director of Le Figaro, replied. He cited journalistic standards as the reasons for ending the cooperation.
“From your questions and the mention of Milica Cubrilo’s statements, I understand that she accuses us of trampling on press freedom and presents herself as a victim of this alleged behaviour. The reality is more prosaic. We asked Ms. Cubrilo, and not for the first time, to respect our standards of journalistic quality, in order to limit the amount of editing and rewriting required for her work. We also asked her to refrain from political activism, which violates the obligation of journalistic neutrality and could affect the reputation of Le Figaro. It seems she views this as the intervention of a stranger whom I do not know and who has nothing to do with the journalistic work we perform,” Gelie stated in his response to N1.
Source: N1
