Editing Defamation (section)

====Civil====
While defamation law in most jurisdictions centres on the protection of individuals' dignity or reputation, defamation law in [[France]] is particularly rooted in protecting the privacy of individuals.<ref name=LD>{{cite journal|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0306422014537174|title=Legal Divisions|author=Dominique Mondoloni|journal=Index on Censorship |date=June 2014 |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=84–87 |doi=10.1177/0306422014537174 |s2cid=147433423 |access-date=25 May 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref> While the broader scope of the rights protected make defamation cases easier to prove in France than, for example, in England; awards in defamation cases are significantly lower and it is common for courts to award symbolic damages as low as €1.<ref name=LD/> Controversially, damages in defamation cases brought by public officials are higher than those brought by ordinary citizens, which has a [[chilling effect]] on criticism of public policy<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2013/08/france-faces-restrictions-on-free-expression/|title=France: Strict defamation and privacy laws limit free expression|author=Index on Censorship|access-date=25 May 2022|date=19 August 2013}}</ref> While the only statutory defence available under French defamation law is to demonstrate the truth of the defamatory statement in question, a defence that is unavailable in cases involving an individual's personal life; French courts have recognised three additional exceptions:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ipi.media/in-france-judicial-evolution-in-defamation-cases-protects-work-of-civil-society/|title=In France, judicial evolution in defamation cases protects work of civil society|author=Scott Griffen|publisher=International Press Institute|access-date=25 May 2022|date=25 September 2014|archive-date=3 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303212541/https://ipi.media/in-france-judicial-evolution-in-defamation-cases-protects-work-of-civil-society/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*References to matters over ten years old
*References to a person's pardoned or expunged criminal record
*A plea of good faith, which may be made if the statement 
**pursues a legitimate aim
**is not driven by animosity or malice
**is prudent and measured in presentation
**is backed by a serious investigation that dutifully sought to ascertain the truth of the statement.