Half a million sign petition to yank France's CNews off air

The petition cleared 500,000 signatures on the National Assembly's website Monday. It was launched back in June, but signatures spiked hard after an October 23 attack in the towns of Trappes and La Verrière, west of Paris, that left a Frenchman of Congolese origin dead and seven others wounded, including a child. A 39-year-old man has been charged with murder and attempted murder, and a prosecutor said he told investigators he was targeting people who appeared to be 'Muslim, African, or North African.'

The suspect's media diet quickly became part of the story. Contacts told French media he was an avid consumer of CNews, and left-wing politicians have accused outlets like it of handing too much airtime to anti-immigrant rhetoric. The petition itself brands the channel a 'propaganda machine.' Days after the killing, protesters at a rally in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers held up posters reading 'CNews kills.'

CNews isn't engaging. The channel told AFP it would not comment on a 'political petition,' and it has previously denied allegations that it promotes far-right views and racist tropes, arguing it defends freedom of expression.

Crossing the half-million mark means the issue could reach a debate in the lower house of parliament, though that outcome isn't automatic. Two Green lawmakers have pushed the chamber to withdraw CNews' accreditation, framing it as a way to protect 'democracy' from 'racist hatred.'

The politics around the channel run deep. CNews sits among the media outlets owned by ultra-conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré, and critics say its agenda increasingly tracks the lines taken by Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally — a channel that could benefit if, as polls suggest, Le Pen wins the 2027 presidential election and follows through on her promise to privatise public broadcasting, something CNews has long criticised.

It's not the only flashpoint. France earlier this year expelled Russian pundit Xenia Fedorova, who had been accused of peddling Kremlin propaganda on CNews. The channel has also faced accusations of broadcasting racist comments about Bally Bagayoko, the Frenchman of Malian descent who serves as mayor of Saint-Denis. On October 17, protesters threw projectiles and smashed windows at CNews' Paris headquarters during cost-of-living demonstrations.