Monitoring media pluralism in France: Arcom’s unprecedented decision against CNews

In its decision issued on 15 June 2026, the French Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Arcom) paints a damning picture. After analysing 168 hours of CNews programming dated March 2025 - the time period covered by the RSF investigation and referral - the regulator found that three-quarters of the segments expressed "with a few minor nuances" the same point of view. Worse still, Arcom adds, divergent viewpoints "remain isolated and are even, in some cases, disparaged."

Regarding content, Arcom, like RSF, identifies an editorial hyperconcentration on themes that are covered in unequivocally. The Muslim religion is presented without contradiction "as a threat to French society"; immigration, a recurring topic, is presented as a key factor in the alleged rise in insecurity; court cases reveal the overrepresentation of certain viewpoints; the left-wing party La France Insoumise political is the subject of "particularly harsh criticism without any significant challenge"; and the war in Ukraine is covered in a "largely one-sided" manner to criticise France's support.

Facts take a back seat to commentary

As RSF has also documented, Arcom emphasises that it is the very way in which debates are structured on the channel that has largely contributed to the one-sided coverage of current events. The presentation and contextualisation of facts take a ""a secondary place compared to the commentary on them." Discussions on air most often lead "to a treatment of the news that tends to merge with its largely one-sided commentary." In this regard, Arcom finds that the hosts, through their editorials, position themselves as "prescribers of the viewpoint to be adopted on the topic at hand" while limiting the airtime given to guests who qualify the statements or defend a different opinion.

Arcom's decision follows a complaint filed by RSF on 15 January 2026. In this complaint, which is over a hundred pages long, the organisation demonstrated how the channel - which is part of the Canal+ group owned by billionaire Vincent Bolloré - appears to be the only one of France's four 24-hour news channels (BFMTV, CNews, France Info, LCI) to deviate in a clear, sustained and intentional manner from the criteria established by the regulator to ensure compliance with internal pluralism rules.

A deflection on political pluralism

While three independent investigations - by RSF, followed by Mediapart and Libération - had concluded that there was a clear infringement of the rules regarding pluralism in airtime for political figures, with a very significant overrepresentation of the left at night and an overrepresentation of the right and far right during prime time on CNews, the regulator did not reassessed its position on the matter. This refusal to act is all the more concerning given that the practice continued after March 2025, the period covered by the regulator's investigation and RSF's referral. Furthermore, by choosing to artificially segregate political pluralism from pluralism of currents of thought and opinion, Arcom is introducing a two-tier system that unnecessarily complicates regulation in this area.

While these two decisions do not share the same basis, and their quasi simultaneous occurrence is likely to create confusion - or even a false symmetry, Arcom's decision today follows the formal notice issued on 11 June 2026 to two public radio stations, France Inter and Franceinfo, which it called upon to pay greater attention to political pluralism. The regulator said that the Rassemblement National party (RN) had been underrepresented during daytime hours in the first three months of 2026. Radio France, which acknowledged its error, cited "a temporary situation" and stated that its teams "are fully committed to respecting pluralism and practicing total transparency."