The planned reforms for the external television services in France were not well received at news channel France 24. Last week, Radio France Internationale (RFI) published its report suggesting that the editorial teams of RFI and France 24 should merge during the next two years. “It’s a pity that RFI did not send us a copy of the report,” said Alain de Pouzilhac, president of France 24 to Le Monde.
At the moment two consultants to president Nicolas Sarkozy, Georges-Marc Benamou and Jean-David Lévitte, are working on recommendations on the future of French external broadcasting. Their findings will be on the desk of Sarkozy and prime minister François Fillon by the end of November.
France has three external broadcasters, RFI, TV5 Monde and France 24. The latter was the brainchild of former president Jacques Chirac and launched to give the country an alternative voice to CNN and BBC World.
