CNews Environment Coverage Draws Criticism From Climate Groups
CNews devotes only 2 percent of its airtime to environmental issues, according to an analysis of nearly 70 hours of programming broadcast in July 2025 across France’s four continuous news channels by specialists from the Fondation Jean-Jaurès and QuotaClimat. The study evaluated CNews alongside BFMTV, LCI, and franceinfo, finding that the four channels averaged 3.4 percent of airtime dedicated to environmental topics during the monitored period.
The study is based on a limited scope and questionable methodological choices,
CNews stated in a press release, adding that the channel remains attached to editorial freedom and pluralism.
The network currently leads audience ratings alongside BFMTV.
Controversial Content and Climate Misinformation Findings
Researchers examined long segments discussing environmental topics on CNews, which is part of billionaire conservative Vincent Bolloré’s media group. The analysis found that 69 percent of those segments address at least one controversial question, such as the viability of renewable energy sources. The report also notes that no viewpoints opposing the Duplomb law, which sought to relax regulations on certain insecticides, were broadcast on the channel during the study period.
The evaluation identified 63 cases of climate misinformation on CNews, accounting for 64 percent of the 98 total cases detected across all four continuous news channels. Through its editorial stance and non-scientific treatment of the environmental subject, CNews contributes to making it a partisan issue,
representatives for the Fondation Jean-Jaurès and QuotaClimat stated.
Organizations Urge Arcom to Penalize CNews
Ahead of the presidential election, the two organizations urged France’s broadcasting regulator, Arcom, to issue a formal notice to CNews for failing to meet requirements for pluralism, rigor, and honesty in information. In response to the findings, the network maintained that respect for pluralism cannot be reduced to a mechanical distribution of airtime or positions.
In June 2025, following a referral from Reporters Without Borders, Arcom ordered the channel to improve diversity of opinion on its broadcasts regarding security, the war in Ukraine, immigration, and Islam. In 2024, CNews became the first news channel penalized by Arcom for uncorrected on-air statements claiming human activity has no influence on global warming. That ruling resulted in a 20,000-euro fine following a report filed by QuotaClimat.