RT France
 | |
| Type | State media |
|---|---|
| Country | Russia |
| Broadcast area | France |
| Network | RT |
| Headquarters | Boulogne-Billancourt, France |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | French |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) (downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | (ANO) TV-Novosti |
| Sister channels | RT International RT America RT Arabic RT Documentary RT en Español RT UK RT Deutsch |
| History | |
| Launched | December 18, 2017 |
| Closed | March 2, 2022 |
| Links | |
| Website | francais |
RT France, also known as RT en français, was the French version of the Russian state-controlled news channel RT. The channel was based in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and funded by the Russian government.[1]
Similar to other RT channels, the neutrality and objectivity of RT France's information were regularly questioned.
RT revealed in late 2015 its willingness to develop its TV network among the French-speaking audience in countries such as France, Belgium and Switzerland.[2] The channel was launched on December 18, 2017, broadcasting in France, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland and the Mediterranean.[3]
The channel, like other RT channels, cycled around 30 minutes of news and 30 minutes of other features, 24/7, and was able to provide rolling coverage on breaking news events when warranted.
Assessments and responses[edit]
The political science researcher Maxime Audinet discussed the neutrality of RT France by stating: "Today it's not easy at all to find "fake news", or at least gross attempts at misinformation on the sites of RT, for example. They certainly have a conspiratorial past, but it definitely seems more interesting to observe the nature of their editorial line, which is highly selective and consistent with the Moscow-based view of the world."[3]
In 2017, current French president Emmanuel Macron accused RT France of spreading "propaganda" during his 2017 presidential campaign and banned RT reporters from his campaign headquarters. He described the channel as a tool for "influence-peddling."[4]
On June 28, 2018, RT France was found in breach by the CSA for "failures of honesty, the rigor of the information and the diversity of the viewpoints" in a subject on the Syria. In a topic broadcast on April 13, "disputing the reality of chemical weapons attacks in the Syrian city of Douma", the CSA observed that the channel "had not faithfully translated comments of Syrian witnesses". The CSA imposed no sanctions on RT, but the regulator has the authority to fine a broadcaster or suspend its licence.[5] However, RT acknowledged that these actual words were spoken by the witness, but in a longer version of the interview that was not broadcast on air.
RT France then apologized for the technical error, claiming "not to have invented a piece of evidence by means of a deliberately fraudulent translation as many media believe" with evidence as full testimony. Its president Xenia Fedorova claimed that "RT France covers all subjects, including the Syrian conflict, in a totally balanced manner, by giving all sides a chance to comment."[4] As a result, RT France appealed a week later to the Conseil d'État to overturn the decision of the CSA.
On July 18, 2018, the Syndicat national des journalistes (SNJ) wrote a blog stating that RT France journalists were denied access on numerous occasions to cover major events, such as presidential elections. The main reason was that "RT is regularly blamed at the highest level as a tool for propaganda and misinformation."[6]
On October 17, 2018, during an interview with a Puremedia journalist, French government spokesperson Benjamin Griveaux, re-stated the state's refusal to open its press room to RT France and Sputnik, saying: "They are not news organizations. They are propaganda funded by a foreign state."
In November 2018, RT France was accredited to allow access to some Elysée press conferences. But in February 2019, LREM refused to allow the channel to cover its European campaigns, on the basis that RT and Sputnik, "are not news organizations but propaganda in the service of the Kremlin. They should not be considered to be media, since they do not verify or cross-check information".[7]
On 23 February 2022, Frédéric Taddeï stopped hosting the show Interdit d'interdire in response to Russia's recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk breakaway states immediately prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[8][9]
On 27 February 2022, the European Union (EU) announced that in response to the invasion, they have banned RT and Sputnik (another Russian state-run propaganda outlet) in all languages throughout all their member states.[10] This effectively shuts down RT France as France is an EU member state though there is no news as of 27 February whether or not they were evicted from their Paris headquarters and if they are still broadcasting there, are doing so illegally.[10]
On 16 March 2022, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission banned RT France from broadcasting in Canada[11]
References[edit]
- ^ "Arab News." arabnews.com. Retrieved on March 10, 2022. "RT France bids farewell to its European audience."
- ^ "Russia Today va se renforcer en France". Le Monde.fr. 6 October 2015.
- ^ a b "Russia Today se lance en France: "Ce n'est pas une propagande grossière"". LExpress.fr (in French). 2017-12-17. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- ^ a b "Russia Warns French TV After France Calls Out Falsified RT Report". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ^ "RT France avertie par le CSA pour un sujet sur la Syrie". L'Obs (in French). Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ^ "Syndicat National des Journalistes | Premier syndicat français de journalistes". www.snj.fr. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ^ "LREM refuse d'accréditer Sputnik et RT pour les européennes". LExpress.fr (in French). 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ^ Goy, Héloïse; Patri, Alexis (23 February 2022). "Frédéric Taddeï quitte son émission sur RT France "par loyauté envers la France"" [Frédéric Taddeï leaves his show on RT France "out of loyalty to France"]. Europe 1 (in French). Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ "Frédéric Taddeï: «Par loyauté envers la France, je quitte la présentation de mon émission sur RT France»". 22 February 2022.
- ^ a b "EU tightens Russian sanctions and buys weapons for Ukraine". Reuters. February 27, 2022 – via www.reuters.com.
- ^ Zimonjic, Peter (2022-03-16). "CRTC bans Russian state-controlled TV channels RT, RT France from Canadian airwaves". CBC News. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
External links[edit]
- RT (TV network)
- Television networks in Russia
- 24-hour television news channels in France
- Defunct French television channels
- Russian propaganda organizations
- Television channels and stations established in 2017
- Television channels and stations disestablished in 2022
- 2017 establishments in France
- 2022 disestablishments in France