An official petition calling for the closure of French television channel CNews has surpassed 600,000 signatures, more than four months after it was launched. The initiative accuses the channel of promoting racist ideas and could now qualify for consideration by France’s National Assembly.
The number of signatures rose sharply after a 23 October shooting in Trappes, near Paris. The attack, attributed to Kevin T. and investigated as a racist crime, killed Pengo Bossio Wangi, a young French man of African origin, and injured several other people, including a 12-year-old girl.
Following the shooting, France’s left-wing parties accused Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally of contributing to a climate of hatred towards immigrants and their descendants. They also criticised the role of CNews, owned by conservative media magnate Vincent Bolloré, in spreading racist and xenophobic ideas.
Published on the National Assembly’s official website, the petition states that CNews is “not a news channel, but a propaganda machine”. It also cites €630,000 in fines imposed on the channel by French regulators since 2019, describing the amount as a record in the French audiovisual sector.
The petition has also revived criticism of a March 2026 broadcast in which psychologist Jean Doridot compared Bally Bagayoko, the mayor of Saint-Denis and a man of Malian origin, to an “ape” and a “tribal chief”.
Under the National Assembly’s rules, a petition receiving more than 500,000 signatures from at least 30 departments or overseas communities may begin a process leading to a debate in the chamber. The first decision, however, will rest with the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Education, which may choose to examine the petition or dismiss it.
Even if the petition is reviewed by parliament, it would not result in CNews being closed. These citizen initiatives are intended to draw attention to a specific issue rather than directly impose such a measure.
Sources: Observador.