PARIS, April 3 (Reuters) – The Paris prosecutor’s office said on Friday it had opened an investigation into French news channel CNews for possible hate speech after alleged racist comments about Bally Bagayoko, the newly elected Black mayor of Parisian suburb Saint-Denis.
At the centre of the case is CNews, the rolling news channel controlled by French tycoon Vincent Bolloré’s Vivendi group, which critics have likened to Fox News for its opinion‑driven format and polarising tone.
Media watchdogs and opponents accuse the channel, as well as other outlets in the Bolloré group such as the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, of near‑constant coverage of immigration and security, which they say fuels far‑right narratives.
Bagayoko, the first Black mayor of Saint-Denis, an impoverished and diverse suburb north of Paris, lodged a complaint on Wednesday, alleging the comments made by panelists on the channel on March 27 and 28 constituted racist slurs, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Contacted by Reuters, CNews had no immediate comment. It told AFP the controversy was “baseless” and denied any racist comments were made. The mayor also could not be immediately reached for comment.
Separately, the prosecutor opened an investigation into possible cyberbullying targeting the mayor, who is a member of the far-left France Unbowed party, due to his skin colour.
Under French law, racial slurs are punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to 45,000 euros ($52,000), while cyberbullying is punishable by an up to two-year jail term and a fine of up to 30,000 euros.
($1 = 0.8663 euros)
(Reporting by Inti Landauro, Dominique Vidalon, Juliette Jabkhiro; writing by Michel Rose, Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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