Freedom of the Press/History/Country sources/France
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What is the oldest written source in this country that mentions this right?
France
The importance of press freedom was originally emphasized in Article XI of the 1789 Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen: “The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law” (Yale Law School, “Declaration of the Rights of Man – 1789” ).
This clause is now contained in Article 11 of the France’s 1958 Constitution (Constitute Project, “France's Constitution of 1958 with Amendments through 2008” ).