Shut up! France tells Egypt-based researchers

France has told researchers based in Egypt not to speak to the media during the current wave of protests, if they are employed by the French state.

Reuters/Mohamed Abd El-Ghany

Reminding specialists on the state payroll that civil servants are obliged to be discreet on political matters, France’s embassy in Cairo has recommended that that they do not speak publicly "too much" on the massive protests currently shaking President Hosni Mubarak’s regime.

The obligation applies “especially when it comes to speaking about what is happening in a country where one has received a work permit”, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Bernard Valero told journalists after the story broke on the Mediapart website.

Security concerns were also behind the recommendation, Valero said, adding, “If you return to France, you can speak, but be careful.”

Mediapart reports that the embassy has asked Marc Lavergne, the head of the Cedej thinktank which is funded by the ministry, to cease appearing in the news media.

Many journalists and NGO workers have suffered verbal and physical attacks over the last few days.

France’s Socialist Party on Saturday condemned the “brutal repression” of anti-Mubarak demonstrations and “all those responsible for freedom of expression”.