“We are confident that Canal + users will appreciate the diversity of RT France content, a different look at events and original programs that have already been highly praised by our audience,” said Ksenia Fedorova, head of RT France.
Canal + subscribers will be able to watch RT France news with hostess, formerly on BFM TV, Stephanie de Mureu, “Forbidden is forbidden” with French television star Frederic Taddei, geopolitics program with former head of economic intelligence France Alain Juje, as well as TV channel documentaries.
The news of the inclusion of RT in the Canal + package provoked a reaction in France.
“I think that this creates a problem for democracy, especially in France, and, moreover, that it is a problem for the state and for journalists, because under the guise of journalism, some try to influence both the democratic debate and sometimes the election,” French Secretary of State for Digital Technologies Cedric O. commented
The inclusion of the channel in the Canal + package was also discussed in the program on the state radio France Inter. So, the presenter asked the question: “Does this confirm Canal +’s strategy to become an aggregator of channels, and, in particular, is RT a way to increase its visibility and legitimacy?”
“Yes, the legitimacy that RT has pursued since launching in French is a channel that Emmanuel Macron, after his election, qualified as a propaganda agency. But the crisis of “yellow vests” allowed the channel to establish itself, the number of subscribers to its website doubled, the number of views of its reports amounted to 23 million, making RT the most watched French channel on YouTube over this period. With the advent of Canal + RT into the galaxy, it definitely leaves the shadow, especially since the channel is now part of the Canal + news block, ”said Alexandra Akkun, a journalist specializing in media news.
Earlier it became known that the former head of the economic intelligence service of France, Alain Julier, will conduct a program on geopolitics on RT France.
A number of publications have announced the launch of the RT France program, including AFP, France 24, Le HuffPost, France Inter radio, Pure Médias. The news of Jujeu's new work was the occasion for discussion on Twitter.
In December 2019, RT France became available in the free Molotov package, one of the largest OTT television broadcasting platforms in France.
RT France launched broadcasting from the “telecommunication valley” of France, in the suburbs of Paris, in December 2017.
By the number of subscribers to YouTube, RT France is currently ahead of the French news channels CNews, France Info and LCI. The release of Frederic Taddei's program on yellow vest protests in France reached the final of the International Broadcasting Association (AIB) competition in the Politics and Business category in 2019.