The latest addition to the French version of Israel’s i24news promises “debates, opinions, and confrontations”. Launched at the end of January, the “Grandes Gueules Moyen-Orient” gives debating airtime to all sections of society – the basic requirement being “a strong temperament”.
From Tel Aviv to Paris, via New York, Washington and Dubai, the channel tries to tackle geopolitical news in the Middle East without taboos – a real challenge in a region considered the world’s “conflict lab”. The fight against separatism, “Israel: an ungovernable country?”, What role for the UN in vaccinating Palestinians? – right from the start the programme didn’t pull its punches.
From Monday to Thursday at 7:00 p.m. CET the show is hosted by Frenchman Benjamin Petrover, the channel’s editor and anchorman since 2015 and former journalist for Europe 1 and I-Télé. Replays are available on the YouTube channel here.
The Israeli international news channel broadcasts continuously from the port of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, in French, English and Arabic. From its launch in 2013 the channel wanted to exemplify dialogue and pluralism, aiming to become a second voice after AlJazeera. In 2016, i24news ran a poster campaign in Paris which caught many people’s attention.
Find more information about news from the Mediterranean channels here.
Sources: sudouest.fr, lorientlejour.com, satellifax.com
