Librari[d]an

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has canceled France 24! For those of you who don’t know, France 24 is a news channel funded by the French government that broadcasts in Arabic, English, and French. It is also one of my top five primary news sources. The reason for the cancellation is more horrifying than I could have ever imagined. According to Sarkozy: “With taxpayers’ money, I am not prepared to broadcast a channel that does not speak French”. (BBC)

This is insane. If the BBC can offer 32 languages other than English, Sarkozy can scrounge up some euro to support France 24. If anything, they should be expanding the number of languages as originally planned!

In the end, however, this is not a question of money. This is definitive proof that Sarkozy is turning his back on the Arabic-as-a-first-language population within France. These people need more than word-of-mouth news in their communities. Removing an official news source in their mother tongue will further isolate them in, what may seem like and very well may be, a sea of ethnocentrism and open xenophobia.

It also smacks of the effort to protect the French language from the imperialism of the English language. But I don’t really care if Sarkozy doesn’t want to help English-speakers understand “a French perspective on world events”. (France 24) There are more important things at stake.

Encore: What France needs is an official news source in Arabic to reach the mono and bilingual Arabic communities, both legal and illegal, within the country. Tell the French Ambassador so using this form, by sending him a letter via post (to Pierre Vimont 4101 Reservoir Road, NW Washington, DC 20007), by telephoning the embassy (202.944.6000), or faxing the embassy (202.944.6166)!

:: Bibliography ::

“About France 24.” France 24 9 Jan. 2008. 9 Jan. 2008 <http://www.france24.com/france24Public/en/page-footer/about-france-24.html>.

“Sarkozy says ‘non’ to France 24.” BBC News 9 Jan. 2008. 9 Jan. 2008 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7178158.stm>.