Why would the political line of the Quai d'Orsay sometimes — often — serve as the editorial line of the AFP?

Do you remember the 1944 birth of France's "independent" newspaper?

The Transatlantic Intelligencer has more on the 1957 birth of the AFP:

The Tuesday edition of Le Figaro (29 November) published a rather rambling essay on the AFP or Agence Presse-France by the ex-President of the organization Lionel Fleury. Fleury’s reflections leave little room for doubt that the raison d’être of the AFP is not simply to inform, but rather to “inform” in such a way as to serve the French national interest as defined by the French state. [What is such a function otherwise known as?] The raison d’être of the AFP is, in short, raison d’Etat.

Here some revealing extracts from Fleury’s article…

John Rosenthal also presents more on the "synergy" between the agendas of "independent" groups and those in power, as well as a piece on how France's mainstream media operate when it comes to people they disagree with…

Update: To noone's surprise, it seems like the Ipsos polling house is in the same league as the rest of 'em…