France 24 (That’s “France vingt-quatre”, not “France Twenty-Four” as you might imagine). It’s an English-speaking channel “with a French perspective on the news”. It’s being launched here next month. Yes, because there’s a great demand for a French perspective on things. All those times people have said to me, “Eeee, I wish the 10 O’Clock News was a bit more French!”, or “Y’know, wouldn’t it be great if they renamed Sky News as Nouvelles de ciel?”

I just don’t get it. I don’t understand who its target audience is supposed to be, I don’t understand how it’s going to make money, and I don’t understand why anyone would be particularly interested in a French perspective on the news. I do understand why the American news channels get (albeit relatively few) viewers – after all, it’s the news from the perspective of the world’s biggest super-power. I understand Al Jazeera English – after all, the future of the unstable Middle East determines our future, and they have very different things to say. But news from a French perspective? I just don’t get it.

Here’s a trailer, as found via Iain Dale, who frankly seems as confused as the rest of us: