A petition calling for action against French news channel CNews has collected more than one million signatures. Its signatories accuse the channel of promoting radical-right and far-right political positions, racism and Islamophobia, and describe it as a propaganda outlet rather than a news channel. A competent committee of the French Parliament was due to examine the issue at 1 p.m. and decide whether it should be debated in Parliament.

Critics say CNews has been repeatedly sanctioned by France’s media regulator Arcom, which has imposed a total of €300,000 in fines since the start of the year. CNews rejects the accusations and says it is defending freedom of expression. The channel is part of the media group Canal+, in which Vincent Bolloré is a major shareholder. The petition has also prompted support for keeping CNews, with other parliamentary petitions describing it as a contributor to pluralism in the French media landscape.