France plans to stir up international broadcasters
PARIS, Aug 27 (Reuters) France must shake up its diverse collection of international broadcasters to compete with US and British giants and newer Arabic cable television groups like Al Jazeera, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said today.
The international dominance of cable stations like CNN or BBC World has long been an irritant to France, prompting former President Jacques Chirac to launch a French rival called France 24 last year.
But Kouchner, who returned from a visit to Iraq this month, said more still needed to be done to ensure that France's voice was heard in the world.
''During my visit to Baghdad I was able once again to observe the considerable influence of Arab, American and British stations,'' he saidin a speech in Paris.
''Because we lack a powerful international French audiovisual presence, we're not heard sufficiently,'' he said.
France 24, jointly owned by France Television and commercial operator TF1, is dwarfed by its US and British rivals and there has long been pressure for a merger with the other French international broadcasters, TV5 and Radio France Internationale.
''The fragmentation of our international audiovisual system, its lack of coherence, means and visibility merit a general reflection,'' he said.
''By
the
end
of
the
year,
together
with
the
culture
ministry,
I
would
like
to
have
completed
a
proposal
for
a
structure
regrouping
the
operators
TV5,
France
24
and
RFI
and
mobilising
them
for
new
objectives
including
a
common
Internet
portal.''
REUTERS
SY
KP2242