On the founding of the AFP by the 1957 “AFP Law”: 

…[O]ur country’s press did not have the means to finance a global network to collect and disseminate information. One had, then, to appeal to the state. In order to preserve the independence of the agency [sic!], the 1957 law created a façade of power for representatives of the French media. Using its influence over the latter, the government could control the situation as it wanted. A veto over the appointment of a CEO whose term is notably short gave it an additional source of security if needed. Finally, the requirement of strict budgetary equilibrium placed the agency under the tutelage of the state, but required the latter in turn to confirm every year its will to dispose of an instrument of information at the service of the grandeur of the country. 

And further: 

…All parties had reason to be satisfied: from the representatives of the press, who were satisfied with their honorary role, to the functionaries of the state, who – continually intervening under various pretexts in the destiny of the agency – were indulgent toward its requests because assured of their power. The organization was de facto the practical realization of the Gaullist wish to possess a global means of expression surpassing the economic reality of our country. 

Fleury concludes: 

It is possible that modifications in the 1957 law will one day be undertaken, whether through “inattentiveness”, lassitude or fickleness…. In this case, the subtle equilibrium of 1957 could be broken and our strike force in the news domain could fade ….

For details of the 1957 law and further evidence of the dependence of the AFP upon the French state, see my earlier post “The AFP Can Count to Four”.