France: The petition against the CNews channel has surpassed one million signatures / MPs decide on Tuesday whether to debate it in plenary

The petition calling for CNews to be removed from France’s audiovisual landscape surpassed one million signatures on Sunday, two days before MPs are due to decide whether to dismiss it or send it for debate in plenary. The vote is scheduled for Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. in the National Assembly’s Committee on Cultural Affairs.

Launched in June by a citizen on the National Assembly’s platform, the petition compares CNews to “a propaganda machine” and to the US network Fox News. The initiative quickly gained support following the racist attack in Trappes on October 23, reaching 500,000 signatures last week.

Exceeding this threshold led to the convening of the Committee on Cultural Affairs’ bureau. MPs must choose between dismissing the petition without further action and holding a plenary debate. Of the three petitions that had previously exceeded the threshold of 500,000 signatures, only the one against the Duplomb law reached a plenary debate.

The other two initiatives, including one against a bill concerning antisemitism, were dismissed. The “Libres” trade union at Canal+, the group that includes CNews, recently denounced the channel’s “excesses” and said its editorial line did not reflect its values.

CNews, controlled by conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré, is accused of promoting far-right views, an allegation rejected by the channel’s management. The television channel has been sanctioned several times by France’s audiovisual regulator, Arcom.