VZCZCXRO7503
RR RUEHIK RUEHPOD RUEHYG
DE RUEHFR #1545/01 2240816
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 110816Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4069
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001545 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/PPD, EUR/WE, INR, R 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KPAO OPRC FR
SUBJECT: UPCOMING CHANGES IN FRENCH INTERNATIONAL MEDIA IDENTITY 
 
REF:  07 Paris 3414 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) Changes President Sarkozy has set in motion to revitalize 
the public television industry will likely have a significant impact 
on France's international media presence.  Reforms will consolidate 
France's internationally broadcast public networks under a new 
holding company modeled after the BBC.  An additional reform 
associated with the industry makeover would be the elimination of 
public funding for English- and Arabic-language programming on the 
international news channel France24, which would mark a new 
direction for the network and would change its audience 
considerably.  President Sarkozy laid out reform plans in January of 
this year, though a firm timeline for the consolidation has not yet 
been set.  End Summary. 
 
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FRANCE MONDE:  CREATION OF A NEW MEDIA CONGLOMERATE 
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¶2. (U) The structural reforms will bring together France24, TV5 
Monde and Radio France International under a holding company to 
centralize general management and share resources.  President 
Sarkozy announced the plan at a January 8 press conference, during 
which he referred to the proposed conglomerate as "France Monde." 
President Sarkozy hopes to rejuvenate public television in France 
with the reforms and to create an internationally competitive media 
network.  An Elysee transcript of the President's comments at the 
press conference quotes, "Between Al-Jazeera, which offers an Arab 
point of view, and CNN, which offers an Anglo-Saxon point of view, 
we would like to carry a French point of view."  The President noted 
that each of the networks set to join France Monde would maintain a 
separate identity but would share administrative resources. 
According to a February 24 article in The New York Times, President 
Sarkozy has named the current president of France24, Alain de 
Pouzilhac, to oversee the merger.  Reftel discusses the potential 
economic savings such a consolidation would gain for the French 
government. 
 
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ELIMINATION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAMMING 
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¶3. (SBU) France24 was created in 2006 to launch the French media 
into the international scene and was modeled after CNN and BBC 
World.  The network began with French and English programming and 
later introduced programs in Arabic; it is broadcast across Europe, 
in Africa, in parts of Asia and in several U.S. locations. 
President Sarkozy's plan to eliminate public funding for English and 
Arabic programs highlights a new goal for the network:  to adopt a 
distinctly Francophone identity.  Former President Jacques Chirac 
proposed the creation of France24 during his Presidency and 
supported English-language programming to make the network more 
widely accessible; Sarkozy prefers a different approach.  At the 
press conference, he told reporters, "I am not willing to finance a 
channel that does not speak French."  Eliminating foreign-language 
programming will significantly alter audience patterns for the 
network. 
 
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UNCERTAIN TIMELINE 
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¶4. (U) The plan for France Monde was originally proposed in late 
2007 by Georges-Marc Benamou, the President's advisor on culture and 
audiovisual media.  At that time, financial paper La Tribune 
reported that the government would establish France Monde over the 
next three years.  In the January press conference, President 
Sarkozy indicated that the project would begin "as soon as possible, 
in any case during this year."  Specific dates for implementation of 
the reforms have not yet been announced. 
 
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COMMENT:  SARKOZY LOOKING TO FRANCE'S IMAGE ABROAD 
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¶5. (SBU) President Sarkozy's changes to France's international media 
posture are in line with other reforms he has set in motion to 
improve efficiency and revitalize the French presence worldwide. 
The reforms are part of a push for France to take a more active role 
on the international stage and combat "Anglophone domination" in the 
media.  Though the print press has reported criticism from 
shareholders in France24 and TV5 Monde as well as from the workers' 
unions at the affected networks, opposition to the reform does not 
appear to have threatened its progress.  We expect to see further 
 
PARIS 00001545  002 OF 002 
 
 
evolution of the France Monde conglomeration throughout Sarkozy's 
presidency. 
STAPLETON