Politics · France · 3 hrs ago
Petition seeking to shut CNews passes 250,000 signatures
A petition asking for CNews to be removed from French television has passed 250,000 signatures.
CNews is a French news channel owned by the Bolloré group, and the petition was posted on the National Assembly's website on June 10.
It gathered signatures slowly for months before support surged in late October.
The petition's author accuses CNews of spreading propaganda and points to sanctions and statements on the channel that critics say are racist or misleading.
The sudden rise followed fresh criticism of CNews's coverage of social protests, and student group representatives refused to start a press event while its crew was present.
The petition has passed 250,000 signatures, but that does not itself close the channel or remove its licence.
At 500,000 signatures, it may have a chance of being discussed in the National Assembly; the petition calls for the channel's broadcasting agreement to be withdrawn.
A petition calling for CNews to be removed from French audiovisual media passed 250,000 signatures by October 31, 2026.
The petition was posted on the French National Assembly’s website on June 10.
It calls for the withdrawal of CNews’s TNT broadcasting licence and the closure of the channel.
Its author describes CNews as “a propaganda machine” and accuses it of spreading racist content.
The petition’s signature count rose sharply in late October, passing 200,000 on October 30.
- Who
- The petition was started by Lucas Massoni and signed by more than 250,000 people in France.
- What
- It calls for CNews to lose its broadcasting licence and be shut down.
- When
- It passed 250,000 signatures by October 31, 2026. It was posted on June 10.
- Where
- On the French National Assembly’s petition website.
- Why
- The petition accuses CNews of spreading propaganda and racist content. It says the channel should not retain a public broadcasting frequency.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The petition calling for CNews to be removed was posted on the National Assembly’s website.
The petition had about 45,000 signatures, according to Le HuffPost.
The petition passed 100,000 signatures, according to Le HuffPost.
The petition passed 200,000 signatures.
The petition had more than 250,000 signatures.
- Signatures
- More than 250,000 by October 31, 2026
- Petition title
- Supprimer CNews de l’audiovisuel français
- Posted
- June 10, 2026
- Petition author
- Lucas Massoni
- Requested action
- Withdraw CNews’s TNT licence and close the channel
- Parliament threshold
- More than 500,000 signatures could give the petition a chance of debate in the National Assembly’s chamber
3 sources
What people are saying
CNews is not a news channel. It is a propaganda machine.
A public frequency has to be earned; it must not be sullied.
The media of the Bolloré group, led by the CNews channel, play a major role in saturating public debate with themes and terms marked by unrestrained racism, expressed without restraint around the clock.