Russian-backed RT France kicked off its live broadcasting today, Monday, December 18 from studios in Paris.
The channel will feature a mix of live news, documentary content, debates, interviews, and original programming, much like its English language counterpart, RT, the former Russia Today.
RT France airs from its new studios in Boulogne-Billancourt, the broadcasting hub just outside of Paris known as “communication valley,” also home to TF1, LCI, France 24, RFI, Canal+ and CNews. RT France covers the local, regional, national and international stories most affecting the francophone world. Staying true to RT’s trademark motto “Question More” the channel will aim to shed light on the issues and points of view that have traditionally been overlooked by the other French-language television networks.
Speaking about the channel, president of RT France Xenia Fedorova commented: “France is a country with a storied legacy of respect for the freedom of expression and embrace of new ideas. We have created a platform dedicated to profiling the widest range of opinions in France and beyond. RT France will enable the audiences to explore this diversity and hear the voices rarely found in the mainstream media.”
Howewver, Franch President Emmanuel Macron has dubbed the channel “an organ of propaganda” and openly accused it of sowing disinformation about him via its website and social media during the presidential election earlier this year which he won. At the time, only the French language website of RT France was ‘on the air’.
RT France will broadcast to most countries with a large French-speaking population, including Belgium, Canada and the Mediterranean. Viewers can also access the channel’s content online at rtfrance.tv. The broadcaster has not yet disclosed any carriage contracts by cable and IPTV operators.
As previously reported by Broadband TV News, plans by RT to launch a French language version of the TV channel first came to light in August 2014.
