in the Maghreb and 30 at the close and the Middle East

Two and a half years after its creation, France24, the French international news channel, goes into high gear in the Arabic language. Since last Monday, it has increased its volume of diffusion in this language from four to ten hours per day. Stated objective by the direction taken by Alain de Pouzilhac, the President, and Christine Ockrent, Director General: their place among the multitude of Arab channels (Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiya...) or Anglo-Saxon, the Maghreb in the Middle East, occupying largely the information field. "The distribution of France24 is good." Now, it's a question of notoriety. "It must make known our way to information", said Nahida Nakad, leading France24 Arabic writing (36 journalists) and which is also in charge of the subsidiary in the Arabic language of RFI, Monte Carlo Doualiya. "It will not compete with major chains such as Al-Jazeera or Al Arabiya satellite." They have political lines clear, and we, we claim our independence. "It will not happen a level, but it will happen to a pool of people who will look at us and us will remain faithful," said.

The "opinion leaders" targeted

More offensive, Alain de Pouzilhac does not hesitate to position the string true challenger of Al Jazeera, the Qatar number one channels channel in the Arab world. In the five-year plan 2009-2013 it just to convey to the Government, France24 aims the trebling of the hearing in this region, while it considers already touch on a weekly basis, 80 of its target (the "opinion leaders", i.e. managers, politicians, students...) in the Maghreb and 30 at the close and the Middle East.

By the end of the year or, at the latest hope, in the spring of 2010, France24 wants to spend 24 hours a day in Arabic, which will require an additional investment of 10 million. To do this, it is still awaiting the green light from the Government. However, a broadcast in Spanish, mentioned at the time of the creation of France24 in December 2006, is no longer the order of the day.

In Arab countries, claimed by France24 objectivity is a true challenge: that of not step aparaître as a colourless string made from Paris, dedicated to a confidential hearing. The competition is tough. In the Maghreb and the middle and Middle East, the news channels have very strong identities, and are closely related either to a country (the Qatar for Al-Jazeera, Saudi for Al-Arabiya) or to a political movement (Lebanese Hezbollah to Al-Manar). In all countries of the region, the information war is raging.

Not the "voice of the France".

"The Arabs are convinced that the chain of State gives notice of the State", said Nahida Nakad. The difficulty for the French chain will therefore be to understand "opinion makers" that it is not the voice of the France, but it proposes a "French vision of news." "We are not an Arabic string more, but a French string expressed in Arabic", said last week in Beirut, Christine Ockrent, where France24 staff had come to make a promotional operation.

A message still difficult to pass. "When I want to see the French point of view on current events in the region, I watch France24 in English, and not Arabic", considered a Lebanese journalist.