| Chirac as Ted Turner |
31 March 2003
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Chirac Proposes French CNN
French President Jacques Chirac has hit upon an idea that would greatly enhance French influence in the world, a 24-hour TV news network broadcasting in French. The word "would" is used because this would have been a great idea 20 years ago, but now, it would simply be a waste of French taxpayers' money.
As the BBC's governors and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office can attest, there is a great deal to be said for providing news fairly and accurately over long periods of time in a language common to millions. The French language, of course, is far less important than it was one hundred years ago, but there are still millions outside of France who speak it well if not fluently. In theory at least, there is an audience that would welcome the service and the French Foreign Ministry could certainly advance its own case on such a network.
The problems, though, are two-fold. First, Chirac is insisting that the existing French networks get together and create a consortium to undertake the plan. This means that they will be encumbered with the same infighting as currently exists in French broadcasting and that this will merely be a new field for the bickering.
Most damaging of all, though, is the fact that English dominates world society the way French used to, and Spanish did before that. Indeed, not since Latin died has a single language been used as a vehicle for communication among such a diverse set of cultures. When a Japanese businessman discusses trade with a Bolivian politician, English will most likely be used absent translators, not French.
Inside the Francophonie, this service will preach to the converted. Outside of it, there aren't enough people who use the language to make it worth the effort. Before the opening of China, and of the ex-Soviet bloc, there might have been a chance of success for the Parisian CNN, but now, it will be a rear-guard action at best.