Brussel stemt toe met Frans staatssteun voor Franstalige nieuwssatelliet (en)

Brussels authorised on Tuesday (7 June) the launch of a French news TV channel, judging that it did not contravene EU rules for state aid.

The French International News Channel (CFII), which is the fruit of cooperation between state broadcasting group France Television and the private channel TF1, will be a private company financed by public capitals, at least in the beginning, according to Le Figaro.

"The Commission concluded that, although the financing of CFII constituted state aid, it was compatible with the single market as a project financing a service of general economic interest", Brussels' executive body announced in a press release.

It also judges that the project offers "sufficient guarantees against the risk of distortion of competition, for example by preventing unjustified transfers of public funds to France Television and TF1, who will be shareholders in the future channel".

But according to Jean-François Tealdi, secretary general of the National Syndicate of Journalists (SNJ-CGT), this "unnatural teaming" between private channel TF1 and the public service (France Television) is "the worst of solutions".

The SNJ-CGT preferred a previous offer by the CFII to be a public channel, associated with AFP news agency and Radio France Internationale (RFI), according to AFP.

The idea of launching a French news network emerged in 2003 and is supported by president Jacques Chirac.

The government will provide 30 million euro in 2005 to give the channel a starting thrust, but the project is to have an annual budget of 70 million euro from 2006 on.

CFII's aim will be to "offer to the international audience a French look at world events", rivalling anglo-saxon channels, such as CNN or the BBC.

The programmes of the channel will mostly be in French, but also in English and Arab.