Gary Fitleberg, December 2, 2004

France's prime minister said his government will introduce legislation to ban TV channels that broadcast racist and anti-Semitic content.

In a statement Wednesday, Jean-Pierre Raffarin said new legislation would allow for "the immediate suspension" of channels that breach French law. Such legislation is necessary following the "legitimate anger" created by the transmission of "unacceptable programs" by the Hezbollah channel Al-Manar, Raffarin added. The prime minister's statement came a day after France's public broadcasting authority appealed to the country's highest administrative court to allow it to ban Al-Manar following the channel's transmission of anti-Semitic material last month.

The authority initially had renewed the channel's broadcasting license Nov. 19.

Gary Fitleberg is a Political Analyst specializing in International Relations with emphasis on Middle East affairs.

Copyright © 2004 Gary Fitleberg