France’s highest administrative court has given the country’s media regulator six months to examine whether the television channel CNews is conforming to rules on balanced and independent journalism, reports The Guardian.
Tuesday’s ruling was a victory for the press freedom organisation Reporters sans Frontières (RSF), which had asked the state council to overturn the regulator Arcom’s refusal to investigate the channel, described by critics as the “French Fox News”.
RSF accused CNews of having become “opinion media” and referred its complaint to the court after it said Arcom had ignored repeated calls for it to remind the news channel of its obligation to ensure the “honesty, independence and pluralism” of its coverage.
CNews, which is part of the Canal+ group owned by the billionaire industrialist Vincent Bolloré, has seen viewing figures soar with a mix of rowdy debate shows often focusing on issues such as immigration and crime.
France’s system of TV regulation means that all channels must give equal airtime to figures from different political parties in electoral periods.
However, the state council went further, calling on the regulator to take into account the diversity of thought and opinion represented by all participants in programmes broadcast, including columnists, presenters and guests. It also ordered Arcom to look at the channel’s “operating conditions and programming characteristics”.
Christophe Deloire, RSF’s secretary general, described the decision as a “historic victory … for democracy and journalism”.
“Our objecting in fighting for the pluralism and independence of information is simply to defend democracy. It’s not a question of this or that editorial line, but the ability of citizens to access a diversity of facts and opinions. This is a matter of urgency,” Deloire wrote on X.