French CNN counterpart coming at the end of the year
However, a new name must first be found: The originally planned name, CFII, has already been registered by a private individual and may not be used by the station.
The French news channel Chaine francaise d'information internationale (CFII) is expected to be launched between November 15 and December 15. Described by French Culture Minister Rennaud de Donnedieu as "CNN á la francaise", the channel is the brainchild of Jacques Chirac and will be broadcast in several languages. As Pressetext.ch reports, it will be available digitally and free of charge. However, a new name must first be found: The originally planned name CFII has already been registered by a private individual and may not be used by the broadcaster following a court ruling. The new channel name will be announced between the end of May and the beginning of June and will be run in equal shares by France Television and the private broadcaster TF1 as a joint venture. The public information channel is financed by state aid, which had to be approved by the EU Commission. CFII will host around 160 bilingual journalists and will initially be broadcast on two channels: one will be 100 percent in French, the second in equal parts English and French. A third channel is planned for the end of 2007, which will broadcast in Spanish and Arabic.
