France's Arcom issues formal notice to Radio France over daytime under‑representation of the RN

On 11 June, France's audiovisual regulator Arcom issued a formal notice (mise en demeure) to public broadcaster Radio France, accusing it of under‑representing the Rassemblement National (RN) in daytime programmes between January and March 2026. The regulator's data show that more than 70 % of RN airtime on France Info and about 60 % on France Inter was broadcast between midnight and 06:00, periods with low audience reach, which Arcom says breaches rules on political pluralism.

Arcom warned that the notice is the last step before possible financial penalties if the breaches continue. Radio France attributed the imbalance to a technical error after deploying new software in January 2026 that failed to distinguish day‑time from night‑time slots, and says the problem has been corrected. RN leaders Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella criticised the broadcaster, alleging deliberate exclusion of the party. The regulator also indicated forthcoming decisions concerning other outlets such as CNews.