A petition urging for the closure of French television channel CNews has amassed over one million signatures, ahead of a parliamentary meeting to discuss a potential ban. Launched in June on the National Assembly’s online petition platform, the petition describes CNews as “a propaganda machine.”
The Cultural Affairs Committee of the National Assembly convened last week after the petition surpassed 500,000 signatures the day before. Signatures surged following a racist attack in Trappes, a suburb of Paris, on 23 October, which resulted in the death of a French man of Congolese descent and left seven others injured. Friends of the alleged shooter have stated he was an enthusiastic viewer of CNews, the most-watched 24-hour news channel in France.
The committee is set to meet again on Tuesday to decide whether to hold a debate in the full chamber regarding the banning of the channel, as permitted under parliamentary procedures.
CNews, owned by ultra-conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré, has frequently been accused of broadcasting racist and Islamophobic content. The channel has faced several sanctions from Arcom, the French broadcasting regulator, but it denies these claims, asserting that it champions freedom of expression. Right-wing figures, including Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally, have defended CNews, accusing the far-left France Unbowed party of attempting to suppress their views.
The discussion over the channel’s future comes just months before the presidential election, where far-right candidate Marine Le Pen is currently leading in the polls against Emmanuel Macron. Since its launch in 2020, the National Assembly’s online petition platform has only seen one other petition exceed one million signatures, which opposed new rules on pesticide use.
