In the wake of first-round presidential elections that put the far-right, anti-immigrant National Front candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen in second place behind incumbent centrist Jacques Chirac, the French Librarians Association (Association des Bibliothécaires Français) issued a statement April 21 that took Le Pen’s party to task for its interference in public-library affairs in the past.
Written by ABF President Gérard Briand, the statement complained of the National Front’s attempts to censor collections, skew the political orientation of book acquisitions, and interfere with library services in various communities. “The French Librarians Association once again calls for a law that recognizes the special status and mission of professionally staffed libraries to provide citizens with free access to information, knowledge, and recreation,” Briand wrote.
The Association of Directors of Regional Lending Libraries (L’Association des Directeurs de Bibliothèques Départementales de Prêt) also released a statement April 24 that characterized the National Front as “determined enemies of public reading” who have attempted to reduce the value of public libraries by eliminating funding and replacing staff with nonprofessionals.
Both associations called upon library users to vote against Le Pen in the final election May 6, with the ABF portraying it as “quite simply a defense of liberty.” Chirac is expected to win the election by a wide margin, according to a poll published May 3 in Le Figaro.
Posted May 6, 2002.