October 3, 2003	Friday	Sha’aban 6, 1424

PARIS, Oct 2: France will at last have its long-awaited version of BBC World Service, a new 24-hour channel — technically called the Chaine Francaise d’Information Internationale (CFII: French Channel of International Information).

The new channel is likely to become operational by autumn 2004, said former advertising executive and currently Cannes Mayor Bernard Brochand. It is likely to cost 80 million dollars to operate on an annual basis.

In a first phase, the new channel will concentrate its efforts on broadcasting in French to Europe and Africa and in Arabic to the Middle East.