FRANCE The first educational television channel, which promises to show popular programmes designed for mass audiences, opened this week. The La Cinqui me daytime terrestrial channel will show programmes specially designed for universities, schools and nurseries as well as features with an educational slant for more general audiences.
According to Jean-Marie Cavada, the chairman, it will not provide programmes for a narrow elite but will focus on “fighting against inequalities of access to knowledge and will therefore help integration in society”.
It is mainly state-financed with a budget of FFr 800 million (Pounds 100m) and broadcasts all over France every day until 7pm, when Arte, the German-French cultural channel, takes over.
