French public figures call on the media regulator to suspend license of Russia Today TV Channel
Public figures in France have demanded that the Russian propaganda channel Russia Today halted broadcasting, and that the license given to it be withdrawn. They appealed to the head of the Supreme Council for Audiovisual Resources of France (CSA), Olivier Schrameck, in a corresponding letter, reported the publication Le Monde.
"We appeal to you, Mr. Schrameck, with a request for the preservation of civil peace, to suspend the license for broadcasting rights in France issued to Russia Today," the statement said.
The signatories of the letter also express surprise that the channel was provided with a license in France, as such an action was previously "publicly criticized by the President of the country."
"The European Parliament has warned against the disinformation being done by Russia, and is taking steps to combat it (resolution 2016/2020); thus, granting permission to broadcast can only provoke profound misunderstanding, if not outrage," the letter says.
Signatories to the letter include writer Galia Ackerman, editor-in-chief of the journal Philosophie Magazine Michel Eltchaninoff, historian and theologian Antoine Arjakovsky, university professors Pierre Cossa and Irina Dmitrishin and others.
The Supreme Council for Audiovisual Resources of France (CSA) promised earlier to keep a constant eye on the programs that the Russian television channel Russia Today will broadcast in France, since the TV channel has a "trust problem".
In May, French President Francois Macron accused the Russian state media of spreading propaganda and fake news.