France 24 is a French Television channel of information international uninterrupted 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
France 24 was launched on December 6th, 2006. It has as main competitors American the British CNN, it BBC World, the paneuropéenne EuroNews, allemande Deutsche Welle or the qatarienne Al Jazeera. She wants to be besides, according to the remarks of the Minister for the Culture Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, a “CNN with the Frenchwoman”.
History of the chain
1987-1997: idea with the first project Téléfi
In 1987, Jacques Chirac, then Prime Minister, express the desire to see being born a French chain from international information and order a report/ratio on the audio-visual French outside, which emphasizes its fragmentation (RFI, TV5, but also, to a certain extent, RFO, etc), its bad organization and its little of effectiveness.With the change of majority intervened in 1988 and the nomination of Michel Rocard like Prime Minister, the government launches a new instrument International Canal France (CFI), banks of programs intended to provide French programs for the foreigner and in particular the Africa, doubled soon of a television channel.
The war of the Gulf in 1990 - 1991, relayed in the International world by CNN, reveals the power of the international chains of information and their role in the formation of the opinion. Philippe Seguin then wishes the creation of a French equivalent.
In 1996, after 19 reports/ratios in 10 years, the Prime Minister Alain Juppe request with Jean-Paul Cluzel, general inspector of finances, then president of RFI, to conceive a project of French chain of international information. Jean-Paul Cluzel proposes in 1997 to join together TV5, RFI and CFI within a baptized company Téléfi . The government decides to follow this recommendation. But with the return to the capacity of the left following the dissolution of the National Assembly in 1997, new the Foreign Minister, Hubert Védrine, chooses to rather support the development of the existing instruments and in particular TV5 which, under the impulse of its successive presidents, Jean Stock then Serge Adda, develops his capacity to produce clean programs, in particular newspapers of information, for which the chain constitutes its own drafting.
With, moreover, the creation of EuroNews in 1993, the device of audio-visual presence of the France abroad becomes each more complex day, more burst and more expensive, without to be able to be pressed on a true chain of international information uninterrupted, with the image of CNN International or BBC World.
2002-2003: reflections started again with the project CF2I
In 2002, Jacques Chirac revival the project of French chain of international information. At the time of a short speech pronounced at the time of a reception in the honor of the High council of the francophonie to the Elys3ee palace the February 12th 2002, it declares: Is it comprehensible that year after year, we are still to deplore the persistent insufficiencies of information and the audio-visual French-speaking person on the world scene? Admittedly, we have with the Agence France-Press of a remarkable tool information that it is necessary for us to consolidate unceasingly, in particular in its world vocation. Admittedly, each one is intended to recognize recent progress accomplished by RFI, TV5, CFI, thanks to the efforts of their teams and with the determination of the public authorities. But each one notes that we are still far from having a large chain of international information in French, able to compete with the BBC or CNN. And the recent crises showed the handicap which a country undergoes, a cultural surface, which does not have a sufficient weight in the battle of the image and the waves. We question, per hour of the terrestrial networks, satellite, Internet, on our organization in this field and in particular on the scattering of the public means which are devoted to him. Then, the March 7th, being expressed with the Palate of Luxembourg in front of the representatives of the French from abroad, within the framework of the presidential campaign, it indicates more precisely: We must have the ambition of a large chain of international continuous information in French, with equal of BBC or of CNN for the english-speaking. It is essential for the radiation of our country. And for the expatriates, it would be an alive and immediate bond with the metropolis.
After its re-election, the first reflections are committed at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, directed by Dominique de Villepin. This one missionne a diplomat, Philippe Baudillon, former managing director of CFI, whose report/ratio, qualified of “technique”, will not be made public. Various options are examined:
- repurchase of EuroNews by the French State;
- creation of a chain ex nihilo , as the president of France Televisions proposes it, Marc Tessier, which had made validate by the preceding government a project of national chain of information continuously of public service, in front of being diffused on TNT, then being prepared;
- realization of version international of LCI, as TF1 which requires, for that proposes it, a State grant;
- reinforcement of information within TV5, as suggest it Serge Adda and the services of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
The March 19th, work of the commission of Matignon leads to a call for projects launched by a service of the Prime Minister, the Direction of the development of the media, for to cause the development of a chain of international information. Emitting firstly in French language, this service will have vocation to ensure a more important and more visible presence of France in the world battle of the images, and to contribute to the pluralism of international information by offering to the televiewers the choice of a different glance on the topicality, marked by the singular point of view of our country on the businesses of the world, by its culture and its own genius, and developing its historical links and geographical privileged. The chain of international information will have to thus contribute to a durable strategy of influence of France in the world.
At the time of the invitation to tender closure the April 22nd 2003, three candidates answered: France Televisions and RFI defends an entirely public project together; the Groupe TF1 proposes an international version of |LCI; the Groupe Canal+ wants to create a news factory to feed its subsidiary company i>Télé, already presents in 47 strongly overdrawn countries but.
One month later, the parliamentary mission returns its conclusions, unanimously of its members, representing all the range of the political sensibilities present at the National Assembly. The consensus is formed around the creation of a Groupement of public interest (GIP) gathering the whole of the public actors (France Televisions, RFO, RFI, TV5 and AFP), with an aim of launching the chain end 2004.
Being unaware of the work of the parliamentary mission, which he had not requested besides, the government asks a deputy, moreover member of the mission, Bernard Brochand, to prepare an operational diagram starting from the proposals received in answers to the invitation to tender. Bernard Brochand tries to bring closer Canal+ and TF1 but does not reach that point. He then proposes to bring closer TF1 and France Televisions, by drawing aside RFI, to create a held chain with 50/50 by the private group and the public group, temporarily baptized CF2I or CFII . The member of Parliament makes the point that the new chain will be able to thus profit from the experiment and the means (in particular abroad), of the two French main actors as regards television news: TF1 and its chain of national information LCI, France Televisions with the draftings of France 2 and France 3.
2004-2006: last bounces with the installation of France 24
All seems ready. At the time of her wishes to the press in January 2004, Jacques Chirac emits the wish of a launching at the end of the year but various dissatisfactions crystallize. The deputies of the mission of information are furious that the diagram that they proposed was drawn aside, on the basis of report/ratio entrusted to the one as of theirs. The trade unions of France Televisions stigmatize the alliance with the private one, which they denounce like “the marriage of carp and rabbit”, and the refusal to subject the chain to the very protective collective agreements of the audio-visual public, while RFI is upset not to be associated with the project. " Private godfather, chain publique" , diplomatic Le Monde point in January 2006. Part of the press is also ironical about the alleged modesty of the budget of the chain - 80 million euros to starting - which it compares with the figure of 600 million euros which would be the budget of BBC World. Lastly, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs fears that the budget of the chain is not released with the detriment of its appropriations and, in particular, of those of TV5.Vis-a-vis dissatisfactions, the cabinet of the Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, temporize during all the year 2004. The Foreign Minister, Michel Barnier, announce the July 21st, that the chain will not have a budget before 2007, which confirms the vote of the finance law in September, which does not lay down specific means for the CF2I. But the Prime Minister must yield under the pressure of the Elysium: the December 9th 2004, at the time of a press conference, Jean-Pierre Raffarin announces the launching of the chain of international information in 2005: I decided, indicate it, to adopt the commune society project proposed by France Television and TF1. Wanted by the President of the Republic, the new chain will profit from the assets of the great French, public and deprived groups, of television and will support the expression of a French vision more than ever necessary in the world of today. The Government will deposit an amendment with the finance bill rectifying to ensure the starting of the chain height of 30 million euros. This amendment is voted the very same day by the National Assembly.
The beginning of the year 2005 is occupied with obtaining the authorizations necessary on behalf of the European Union and the authorities of competition. The trade unions of France Televisions continue their opposition and make circulate a petition in March 2005. The new president of the public group, Patrick de Carolis, which takes its functions at the summer and which one shows to be close to the Elysium, wants to clear himself with glare of this suspicion while making a gesture with regard to the trade unions. He adopts, on the file of the chain of international information, an offensive position, questioning the viability of alliance with TF1: To be effective, one needs only one pilot in the car. It requires that the chain is diffused in France, which claim the members of Parliament, because it supposes that TF1, anxious to protect its chain LCI, will refuse. Actually, Patrick Le Lay, president of TF1, accepts the diffusion in France of the chain, and the operational diagram is slightly improved to substitute for the alternate rotating presidency every 6 months between TF1 and France Televisions, a diagram of company with directory and board of trustees in whom the presidency of the board of trustees is reserved for the president de France Televisions. These some installations require however to obtain new authorizations on behalf of the authorities European and French of competition, which is made without particular difficulty.
The birth of the chain is officialized at the time of a communication at the Council of Ministers of the Minister for the Culture and Communication, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, the November 30th 2005: The project of French chain of international information (CFII) will make it possible to propose a specific vision to our country of the international events and to reinforce its presence in the world through this tool free and independent . Alain de Pouzilhac, former general president-director of Havas, is indicated like chair directory, and flanked of two assistants resulting one from TF1 (Jean-Pierre Paoli), the other of France Televisions (Ulysses Gosset). Before the launching of the chain, the first resigns to preserve its émoluements within group TF1, the second for differences in opinion with Alain de Pouzilhac, the president of France 24.
The April 22nd 2006, the newspaper Le Monde announces that the leaders of the chain estimated that the initials CFII would be unpronouncable in particular abroad. Its name was made public the June 30th 2006: France 24 or F24 . This decision was made by the board of trustees, chaired by the president of France Televisions, Patrick de Carolis, which made its choice in a list of five names among which France 24 had the appearance of a favorite with French Version .
Since the launching of France 24
France 24 started to emit the December 6th 2006 with 20:29, only in Streaming on Internet, then on the cable and the satellite as of the December 7th in France, Europe, with the Proche and the Middle East, in Africa and with the the United States in the State of New York and in the District of Columbia on two channels, one in French and the other bilingual one (3/4 English - 1/4 French), and diffuses, since the April 2nd 2007, of the programs in Arab bound for the televiewers of the the Maghreb, the Close relation and the Middle East with an Arabic unhooking of 16:00 to 20:00 enters of the French-speaking or anglophone beaches according to the areas. A version in Spanish is envisaged in two years. She wants to be a “CNN with the Frenchwoman”, and during French of international chains of information such as American the CNN and Voice off America, it British BBC World, the paneuropéenne EuroNews, allemande Deutsche Welle or the qatari Al Jazeera. Among the international competitors of France 24, one can also note CCTV-E&F, satellite chain of Chinese national television, diffusing every hour of the newspapers of information in French and Spanish.At the time of the official launch of the chain, a festival took place in the Garden of the Tuileries to Paris in the evening of the Wednesday, December 6, 2006.
Two months after launching, a survey carried out by TNS Sofres indicated that 75% of the questioned French thought that France 24 was useful and essential . On the other hand, some criticisms were emitted against the name of France 24 , which would have a connotation too francocentrée for a chain of information wanting to be international.
However, the problems persist because of a too great fragmentation of the audio-visual French outside, which costs 300 million Euros per annum the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for a limited effectiveness. In June 2007, a steering committee of approximately twenty people constitutes itself to think of a reform. One of the members of this committee, Georges-Marc Benamou, adviser of the president Nicolas Sarkozy for the audio-visual one, compares the heteroclite network with one abracadabrant Meccano . In August 2007, Sarkozy also addresses himself to Bernard Kouchner and Christine Albanel, then respective Ministers for the Foreign affairs and the Culture, in connection with a reorganization necessary of the system: our external audio-visual policy constitutes a major stake for the influence of France and the diffusion of its language . On the satellite, it is diffused in numerical mode DVB-S Mpeg2 and in clearly by in particular both principal satellite S Europeans, Hot-Bird and Astra, sheltering, inter alia, the bouquets TPS and CanalSat.
In France, the editors of commercial bouquets by satellite should take again France 24, by validation of the chain on their final rental. The Canalsat bouquet will diffuse the French version on selection 46, classified in the block set of themes of the chains infos, and the english language version on chain 360. For TPS, the French version is diffused on selection 204 and the english language version on selection 205.
The chain is also taken again on the principal cable networks in France: Noos and Erenis. It is not considered that France 24 is diffused in numerical hertzian (TNT).
The chain is on the other hand accessible in the whole world on Internet in streaming thanks to a small window (agrandissable in full screen) on the site from France 24.
Discusses on the reception of the chain in France
At the beginning, it had been considered that France 24 is not diffused on the French territory. This choice could be analyzed various manners:- the principal international chains of information - CNN International, BBC World, Deutsche Welle TV - are not diffused on their domestic market; it is only one version specific to the national market - CNN, BBC News - which, if necessary, is diffused on this one. Indeed, une chain of international information, centered on the international topicality, is not adapted at the request of the televiewers nationaux, who seek information on questions (the interior policy, facts various national, etc) which have only little or not interest for the international televiewers. The risk exists that a chain of international information disseminated on its domestic market is tried, to increase its audience and thus its advertizing revenues, to deviate from the international line which should be his and to incorporate more national information, thus becoming, gradually, a chain of national information.
- the absence of diffusion of France 24 in France also was presented as intended for protéger the interests of TF1 and its subsidiary company LCI by avoiding the arrival of a competitor to him. This justification however became less relevant with the arrival on the national market of several competitors with LCI: the chain of information of Canal+ i>télé, which was authorized to emit in light on the TNT as from October 2005, and the authorization, always in light on the TNT, of a new chain of national information, BFM TV of the group NextRadioTV. It is undoubtedly the reason for which TF1 gave its agreement, in September 2005, with the diffusion in France of France 24.
- Enfin, of the problèmes of concurrence was also evoked against a diffusion in France, France 24 resulting from the association of two economic actors - TF1 and France Televisions - which occupy of the very strong competitive positions on the national market of television. One can however note that these problems could be raised, the head office of competition, the consumption and the repression of the frauds having finally authorized, under certain methods relating to the access to the advertizing market, the diffusion of France 24 on the cable and the satellite in France.
A polemic on the absence of diffusion of France 24 on the national territory was launched by deputies members of the parliamentary mission of information, and largely taken again by the press. The partisans of a diffusion in France made the point that the French taxpayers supporting the cost of the new chain were to have the possibility of receiving it in order to ensure itself by themselves of made employment of the public money, and also because some of them have the desire to be informed in their language on the international topicality.
This polemic was partly sliced by the decision taken in 2005 to diffuse the chain in France on the cable and the satellite like in streaming on Internet. The chain is thus made available on all the French territory.
Nevertheless, some continue to make the point that the chain should be accessible gratuitement via digital terrestrial television and be available on bouquets ADSL, which is not considered today.
In addition, the report/ratio of the mission of information of the National Assembly appeared in January 2007 stresses that with the arrival of France 24, these are from now on 4 not coordinated companies (RFI, TV5, CFI and France24) which have in load the audio-visual outside of France. From this organization a bursting results from the appropriations, whereas on the whole " France does not devote appreciably less money to its audio-visual outside than the Kingdom-Uni".
See too
Related articles
External bonds
- the Web site of France 24
- Video stream on line of France 24 in French
- Video stream on line of France 24 in English
- Video stream on line of France 24 in Arabic
- For a chain of international information: File set of themes on the site of the Direction of the development of the media.
- Note of synthesis of the report/ratio Brochand (2003)
- Chronology of the installation of the chain
- Blog in English on France 24
- France 24 sight of Lebanon
- Lancement of France 24 seen by BBC News
- Lancement of France 24 seen by Al Jazeera English
Vidéos
- Launching of France 24 on December 6th, 2006 with 20:29
- First captures, clips of presentation of the chain and vidéos of launching
- the Debate of France 24, emission of Sylvain Attal.
- slides of France 24 on the blog of Jean Michel Billaut
- Visite of France 24 per Stanislas Leridon, directing Internet, on the blog of Loïc Le Meur
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