French media regulator issues €200,000 fine against CNews for on-air remarks about immigration, culture

PARIS, July 29 - French media regulator Arcom said on Wednesday it had issued a €200,000 fine against CNews for comments made about people who were Muslim and the descendants of immigrants.• The fines were related to two segments that aired in 2025, about violence committed after Paris Saint-Germain soccer club won the Champions League final and about a Belgian elected representative who wore a head covering.• "They vandalize, they loot, they steal, they assault people, they set fires. ... Most of them are children of Arab-Muslim immigrants. ... They hate France and the French," one panelist who appeared on one of the segments said. In the other segment, a commentator said the dress and behaviour of the Belgian representative was symptomatic of a "Great Replacement" intended to push French people to leave the country.• The "Great Replacement" theory popular with some white supremacists fosters the belief that leftist and Jewish elites are engineering the ethnic and cultural replacement of white populations with non-white immigrants that will lead to a "white genocide."• A CNews spokesperson said it would appeal the decision.• CNews is a French rolling news channel that is part of the media empire of French billionaire Vincent Bollore. His outlets have come under fire by opponents for fuelling right-wing narratives about immigration and crime, but he says the subjects are ignored elsewhere and reflect audience demand.• In June, Arcom ordered CNews to comply with rules on pluralism and diversity of opinion, putting the channel one step away from disciplinary action. CNews said at the time it would challenge that decision in the courts. REUTERS