France 24: a left-wing breed of fair and balanced?

I’m wondering if France 24 is trying to invent an altermondialist version of Rupert Murdoch’s creed. Today’s edition of The Debate was quite instructive. The topic of the show was “trade unions asking for more concessions.”

http://www.france24.com/en/20090305-politics-the-influence-of-trade-unions

But it wasn’t quite a “debate.” The two guests who were physically present on the set were a representative of the Trotskyite union Force Ouvrière, and a representative of the altermondialist group Attac. Meanwhile, the guest appearing via satellite was a representative of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions movement. As a result, the “debate” that took place was as balanced as a Bill O’Reilly monologue (granted, with less yelling). Based on this showing, France 24 can rebuke any allegation of being President Sarkozy’s carpet.

On a side note, a very striking feature of this show was the relatively high level of English-speaking skills displayed by the French Trotskyite union representative, Didier Hotte. Very surprising, and very refreshing, especially given the respective English-speaking skills of President Sarkozy, Prime Minister Francois Fillon, opposition leader Francois Bayrou, not mentioning former foreign affairs minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, who could not produce an English sentence.

Sarkozy en anglais



Bayrou en anglais



Fillon en Anglais