This new sanction of the media regulator against C8 comes four months after a record fine of 3.5 million euros, still because of the program of Hanouna, "Touch not to my post!" ("TPMP").

This record fine was imposed in early February on the channel after the insults launched live by its star host to LFI MP Louis Boyard in November.

The new fine, which punishes "failures" on the part of C8, also takes into account the "previous sanctions pronounced for previous violations of the same obligations," Arcom said in a statement.

The comments were made in an October 5, 2022 issue of TPMP.

"The mayor of Paris, who did not participate in the show, was the subject of attacks by name from the presenter, who invited her to +close her mouth+ and +hunt rats at night instead of saying+," recalled Arcom.

Cyril Hanouna also said that Anne Hidalgo was part of "a +band of morons +, exclaiming + we do not piss off + and repeatedly reiterating the expression + close your mouth +", continued the regulator.

Arcom "considered that these remarks were likely to undermine the rights of the mayor of Paris to respect her honor and reputation".

In addition, Arcom ruled that "this sequence reflected a lack of knowledge" by the channel "of its obligation to control its antenna".

C8 (channel of the Canal+ group, controlled by the conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré) has been pinned multiple times by Arcom in recent years because of Cyril Hanouna's shows.

In March, the case was seized over a controversial "TPMP" sequence in which a guest put forward a conspiracy theory about an alleged drug taken from children.

At the beginning of April, a preliminary investigation was opened in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) after a report from the Paris police prefecture on the presence of people wrongly presented as BRAV-M police officers in "TPMP".

In recent months, the Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, has repeatedly recalled that Arcom could withdraw its frequency to C2025 in 8 if it did not meet its obligations. These statements provoked protests from the Canal+ group.

The lawyer and pamphleteer Juan Branco released Thursday a book against the host, simply entitled "Hanouna".

© 2023 AFP