PARIS: France s international all-news television network France 24 said Friday it will be ramping up its Arabic-language programming from this week.
The launch of the expanded Arabic-language service will take place on Monday evening with a special program broadcast from Cairo on France s role in the Arab world.
France 24 mainly broadcasts in English and in French, with four hours of programs in Arabic.
As of Monday, however, viewers in North Africa and the Middle East will be able to watch France 24 in Arabic for 10 hours a day from 2 pm Paris time (1200 GMT).
In a statement, France 24 said the move would strengthen its presence in strategic geographical areas where the majority of people only speak Arabic .
France 24 was launched in December 2006 with a brief to broadcast a French perspective on world events in a global television news market dominated by CNN International and BBC World News.
It was set up jointly by the private operator TF1 and public broadcaster France Televisions, which in January ceded their stakes to a new public-funded holding company, Audiovisuel Exterieur de la France. -AFP
