A right-wing French TV station, which had George Simion among its guests, received a warning for lack of pluralism

France's media regulator on Monday asked news channel CNews to comply with rules on pluralism and diversity of opinion, bringing the conservative post held by billionaire Vincent Bolloré on the verge of disciplinary action, Reuters, Le Monde and France24 write.

The French channel CNews received a warning from Arcom, the institution that regulates the media, being accused of a lack of pluralism of opinions.

The TV station, which critics have compared to the US's Fox News for its opinion-focused format and polarizing tone, has been accused by media watchdogs and critics of almost constantly covering topics related to migration and security, which they say fuels far-right discourse.

Arcom issued the pluralism warning after analyzing hours of broadcasts last year, as part of an investigation triggered by a complaint from the international organization Reporters Without Borders.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Arcom chief Martin Ajdari said the analysis of the shows revealed a “structurally unbalanced” and one-sided production that left little room for opposing viewpoints.

He emphasized that the regulator's role is not to control opinion, but to ensure that the media presents viewers with a diversity of views on every subject.

What does French law say?

The move comes less than a year before presidential elections, in which far-right candidates are favored.

The French Broadcasting Law of 1986 requires television and radio stations to ensure “honest, independent and pluralistic” coverage, including a diversity of viewpoints, particularly in news and current affairs programmes.

Almost uniquely in Europe, French television stations are required to record politicians' air time and ensure that it reflects the results of recent elections and opinion polls to a large extent.

France's media regulator also issued a formal summons to public broadcaster Radio France last week, saying it had under-represented the far-right National Assembly party in its programmes.

The authority can impose fines and, as a last resort, can revoke a station's broadcasting license.

The war in Ukraine

Arcom's monitoring analyzed 146 shows, totaling 168 hours of programs, noting that “the points of view expressed converge to a large extent”, regardless of the topic.

Regarding the war in Ukraine, for example, viewers heard repeatedly to the point of saturation that the European Union was illegitimate and ineffective, while the French executive, always under question, was accused of “instrumentalizing fear among the population to distract attention from internal threats”, writes Le Monde.

When there were “contradictory opinions, they were often contradicted and caricatured,” observed Catherine Jentile de Canecaude, responsible for pluralism at Arcom.

RSF said it is now waiting for Arcom to follow the logic through. Specifically, if CNews was again found guilty of the pluralism criterion, its case would be referred directly to the independent rapporteur, on whom the possibility of a sanction would depend.

“RSF is prepared to file a new complaint,” warned Thibaut Bruttin, the organization's director general.

Host for the former head of RT

CNews has been a constant target of criticism, and has recently come under particular scrutiny for the ample space given to Xenia Fedorova, the former head of RT France, a post banned from the Hexagon after the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine.

Fedorova appears regularly on CNews, as well as Europe 1 and writes a column for Le Journal du Dimanche, promoting the Kremlin's views on Ukraine and the West, according to France 24.

All these media institutions are part of the empire of conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré.

The government in Paris criticized the positions expressed by Fedorova.

“Everyone is free to choose their own editorial line,” said Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot recently. “But giving this woman access to your shows and columns is simply playing Vladimir Putin's game,” he said.

Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said Fedorova's claims, which shift responsibility for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, were “very serious”.

“It is extremely shocking to hear that such statements can be broadcast today in France during prime time,” she added.

And Valerie Hayer, the leader of the Renew group in the European Parliament, said that she filed a complaint with Arcom.

“Freedom of expression cannot justify the normalization of the 'systematic repetition of the arguments of a propaganda apparatus of a foreign state subject to European sanctions,'” she wrote.

George Simion, guest last year at CNews

AUR president George Simion was also invited to CNews, in the electoral campaign for last year's presidential elections in Romania.

Among other things, Simion accused the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, of “dictatorial tendencies”, accused Paris of interfering in the elections in Romania and even compared France to Iran, at the same time anticipating the disappearance of “Christian France”.

He was contracted by the journalists on the set.

A guest told the Romanian politician that he “offends many French people by talking like that”. “Compare France to Iran. Here we can still criticize the president without the police knocking on our door,” he said.

Also, another right-wing journalist told Simion: “You pretend to criticize Putin, but you use exactly Putin's arguments.”