In the first nine months of the fund's life, Ripostes has provided seven grants supporting three media outlets and eight journalists in their legal cases.

Among them, Ripostes covered the legal costs of L'Empaillé, an independent quarterly based in southern France. The outlet had been prosecuted for "public insult" following a complaint by the director of Perpignan's municipal police, after publishing an investigation into local governance and policing under Mayor Louis Aliot, who is also vice-president of the far-right Rassemblement National.

The case raised concern because it was pursued outside the framework of France's 1881 press freedom law, which provides safeguards for journalistic expression. In January 2026 the court dismissed the proceedings on procedural grounds. Even so, the financial and psychological burden of defending such claims is significant for small independent media.

"However, this victory before the merits of the case were examined deprived us of the opportunity to argue for reimbursement of our legal costs. We would like to thank the dozens of people who travelled from Perpignan and elsewhere to support us in court, as well as the Fonds Ripostes for covering the costs associated with the proceedings." - L'Empaillé, press release, 9 January 2026