PARIS (AP) — A group representing France's presidential reporters has criticized the president's office "for trampling a tradition of transparency" in its refusal to reconsider its plans to move the press room outside the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris.
The Presidential Press Association said Thursday it "notes with gravity" an Elysee statement that the new press room will be finished by year's end.
A press room has been inside the Elysee Palace for over 40 years. Critics say the new location will reduce journalists' access to government officials.
The group added it doesn't "understand why the non-intrusive presence of journalists in the heart of the palace disturbs."
It compared the decision by President Emmanuel Macron to U.S. President Donald Trump, who it says "tried to kick journalists out of the White House."
