Overview
- Arcom told public prosecutors on Tuesday that it had signaled remarks by Éric Zemmour broadcast on LCI, BFMTV and CNews for possible breaches of laws against calls to discrimination.
- The referrals follow a series of comments reported on those channels that included phrases described in coverage as calling for 'remigration' and using terms targeting people of North African and Muslim origin.
- Arcom president Martin Ajdari said the regulator acted because the comments were repeated and close in time across multiple antennas, and he stressed that such referrals are rare.
- Ajdari also reminded broadcasters that French law does not let Arcom ban guests in advance and that it is the channels’ duty to manage their airtime and to counter or contextualize statements that may break the law.
- Under French criminal law, public calls to discrimination can trigger individual penalties and Zemmour’s past convictions for incitement increase the legal and political stakes while prosecutors decide whether to open a formal investigation.