RT launches new French-language channel
French speakers will now be able to “Question More” with ease as RT’s global television news network has launched its French language channel, RT France.
The newest channel is dedicated to the French-speaking world, and will also be broadcasting in Belgium, Canada and the Mediterranean. It will feature a mix of news content, documentaries, debates, interviews and original programming.
Coming to you from a brand new state-of-the-art studio in the Boulogne-Billancourt broadcasting hub just outside Paris, RT France covers the local, regional, national and international stories most affecting the Francophone world. In line with RT’s “Question More” motto, the channel aims to shed light on the issues and points of view that have traditionally been overlooked by the mainstream French-language television networks and other media outlets. The channel’s content is also available online at rtfrance.tv.
RT’s editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, has welcomed the launch of the French broadcasting channel, which she said happened despite heavy criticism from the local mainstream media.
“The whole of the French media was reporting throughout the year that it’s going to be terrible or that we [RT] will fail… There isn’t a single French newspaper which didn’t publish a comic about us. We welcome this – because we welcome freedom of speech, in general,” she said.
Simonyan congratulated the French audience with the launch of RT France, saying that they’ll finally have an opportunity to receive an alternative opinion on the most important issues and learn the news that aren’t reported by any other outlet in the country.
READ MOPRE: Elysee Palace blocks RT's Ruptly video agency from Macron-May meeting
The head of RT France, Xenia Fedorova, hailed France as “a country with a storied legacy of respect for the freedom of expression and embrace of new ideas.” “We have created a platform dedicated to profiling the widest range of opinions in France and beyond. RT France will enable the audiences to explore this diversity and hear the voices rarely found in the mainstream media,” she said.
RT France will showcase an array of talent from the French media sphere, including former lead anchor for BFM TV, Stéphanie de Muru. Renowned economic journalist Jean-Marc Sylvestre, who had previously reported for TF1, LCI, i-Télé, and Atlantico, will host a weekly debate show called “The Eco Lab,” where he’ll face off against famous economist and director of studies at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Jacques Sapir.
READ MORE: Liberté d'expression? RT crew blocked from Macron HQ despite press requests
RT France joins the family of RT’s channels, broadcast in English, Arabic and Spanish to an international audience of 70 million people in 38 countries. RT is among the top-5 most watched international TV news channels in the US, with a weekly audience of more than 8 million viewers, according to Ipsos. It is also the most watched TV news network on YouTube with more than 5 billion views.
