But one figure has kept cropping up since the scandal broke and is worth noting: Mediapart’s impressive legal track record. According to its 2025 annual report, the newspaper states that it has faced more than 300 legal proceedings since its creation in 2008. Of these, it has only suffered five final criminal convictions. These figures were also reported by France 24 on 30 September.
To be clear: this is not to say that Mediapart has won ‘more than 300 defamation cases’. The figure refers to the total number of legal proceedings the media outlet has faced. However, the ratio between the number of cases and the number of final convictions remains particularly striking.
And when we look at the five convictions mentioned by the newspaper, their nature adds another layer of nuance. Mediapart attributes them to an error in an article that was corrected once it was discovered, to a timeframe deemed insufficient to allow for a right of reply, to disputed remarks made in an interview, to the belated publication of a right of reply and, in a fifth case, to a factual basis deemed insufficient.
In other words, Mediapart’s legal record does not resemble that of a media outlet regularly found guilty of fabricating major political scandals. This does not, however, mean that the newspaper is infallible, nor, above all, that the allegations concerning Jordan Bardella are necessarily accurate. A reputation, however solid it may be, never constitutes proof in a particular case.
But this track record helps to put into perspective an argument often used when an embarrassing investigation is published: immediately announcing a defamation claim is not enough to prove that the investigation is false. A claim initiates legal proceedings; it does not prejudge its outcome. In this case, Bardella disputes the authenticity of the messages, whilst Mediapart maintains, on the contrary, that it has authenticated and cross-checked them. It is precisely the evidence, its provenance, its authenticity and the verification method employed that will be at the heart of the legal proceedings.
The newspaper’s recent history also explains why this complaint is being closely monitored. For nearly twenty years, Mediapart has specialised in sensitive investigations involving political, economic or institutional figures. Some of its revelations have preceded judicial investigations and convictions in high-profile cases. This does not allow us to draw any conclusions in advance about the Bardella case, but neither does it allow the investigation to be dismissed with a simple ‘Mediapart is lying’.
This is perhaps where the figures take on their true significance. They do not prove the allegations against Jordan Bardella. However, they do show that Mediapart’s investigations have been the subject of extensive legal proceedings since 2008, resulting, to date, in only five final criminal convictions, according to the figures published by the newspaper. In this new case, therefore, the verdict will come neither from an RN press release nor from Mediapart’s reputation, but from the documents themselves and, from now on, from their examination by the courts.
In the meantime, one thing can be said without exaggeration: the announcement of a complaint against Mediapart is far less exceptional than the media outlet’s final convictions.
