1. January
2. February
3. March
4. April
5. May
6. June

7. July
8. September
9. October
10. November
11. December

JANUARY

9 January : Following several formal notices and disciplinary proceedings due to the non-broadcasting of locally produced programmes as a first broadcast, the CSA decides to withdraw the licence of Télé Bleue, the channel based in Nîmes.

16 January : Following an invitation to bid for the licence of a local channel serving the area of Troyes, which was launched in October 1999, the CSA retains the application of Canal 32.

23 January : The CSA welcoms four new members. Having been designated by the President of the Republic, Dominique Baudis is appointed Chairman of the CSA. Yvon Le Bars, designated by the President of the Republic, Philippe Levrier, designated by the President of the Senate, and Francis Beck, designated by the President of the National Assembly, are appointed as members of the CSA. They replace Hervé Bourges, Jean-Marie Cotteret and Philippe Labarde, who had reached the end of their mandates, and Véronique Cayla, who had chosen to interrupt her mandate to take over the running of the Cannes Film Festival.

23 January : The CSA approves a decree introduced by the Minister for Culture and Communication which provides for the reduction of the maximum duration of advertising on France 2 and France 3 from ten to eight minutes per sliding hour.

24 January : On the first day in his new position, Dominique Baudis receives Timothée Adanlin, Adama Fofana, and Mamadou Kaba, chairmen of the broadcasting regulation authorities of Benin, Burkina Faso, and Mali.

30 January : The CSA identifies the fourteen work groups within which dossiers shall be studied before being presented in plenary meetings. Each group is to be led by one or several conseillers.

FEBRUARY

1 February : The executive of the Israeli broadcasting regulation authority are received by Dominique Baudis, Joseph Daniel and Jacqueline de Guillenchmidt.

6 February : The announcement that RTL Group’s distribution of capital is to be modified leads the CSA to examine the consequences this could have for the group’s subsidiaries which hold broadcasting licences in France. Two days later it receives Jean Drucker and Nicolas de Tavernost, respectively Chairman of the supervisory board and Chairman of the board of directors of M6, and Didier Bellens, Managing Director of RTL Group, Rémy Sautter, Chairman of Ediradio, and Robin Leproux, General Director of Ediradio.

6 February : Invitation to bid for licences for FM frequencies: there are over thirty to be attributed in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, and approximately ten in Mayotte.

8 February : In view of the first weeks of the campaign for the municipal elections of March 2001, the CSA restated the mode of enforcement of the recommendation adopted on 28 November 2000. It particularly stressed that all chief candidates should be treated equally in terms of the amount of air-time they are granted.

13 February : Ten applicants are declared admissible in connection with the invitation to bid for DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) frequency blocks in the Ile-de-France region, which had been launched on 19 February, 2000.

13 February : Adoption of draft conventions for two new channels to be distributed on cable: TPS Foot, which is to broadcast matches from the first division of the French football championships, and TéléGénération, the first channel aimed at senior citizens.

20 February : In connection with the modification of RTL Group’s distribution of capital, the CSA receives Gérard Mestrallet, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Suez-Lyonnaise des Eaux and his colleagues. Along with RTL Group, Suez-Lyonnaise des Eaux is one of M6’s main shareholders.

20 February : Renewal of 17 radio stations’ licenses in the Champagne-Ardenne region.

21 February : Abdel Hadi Mahfouz, Chairman of the Lebanese broadcasting regulation authority is received by the Chairman of the CSA.

27 February : The CSA agrees that M6’s license, due to expire on 28 February 2002, may be renewed without the resubmission of an application.

27 February : At Canal+’ request, the CSA reviews and approves the conditions under which the channel intends to hold a debate the next day between Bertrand Delanoë and Philippe Séguin, candidates in the election for mayor of Paris, and the air-time that shall subsequently be given to the other chief candidates.

27 February : Renewal of 20 radio stations’ licenses in Corsica.

MARCH

6 March : Laurent Touvet replaces Anne Durupty as Director General of the CSA. He previously served as representative of the government before the Conseil d’Etat’s dispute courts, deputy-rapporteur with the Conseil Constitutionnel, and legal counsel for Association des regions de France.

6 March : Launching of an invitation to bid for licences for several FM frequencies in Champagne-Ardenne. Renewal of 68 radio stations’ licences in the Languedoc-Rousillon region.

13 March : For the first time, an official broadcast campaign in the run-up to the elections for the Territorial Assembly of French Polynesia takes place. The CSA publishes a recommendation directed at all the broadcasting media and, on 27 March, it adoptes the terms and conditions under which the campaign is to be organised on the airwaves of national company, RFO.

14 March : Public hearing of M6’s executive for the renewal of the channel’s licence without the resubmission of an application.

20 March : Launch of an invitation to bid for licences for 17 FM frequencies in the Centre and Poitou-Charentes regions.

27 March : Adoption of a draft convention for the distribution on cable of Cuisine TV, which specialises in the art of cooking.

27 March : Five television stations (Télé Montmartre, Télé Bocal, Ondes sans frontiers, Télé Plaisance and La Locale) are authorised to broadcast temporarily in Paris on a shared channel.

27 March : The licences of 90 radio stations in Brittany and the Pays-de-la-Loire region are renewed.

APRIL

4 April : The CSA agrees that TF1’s licence, which is due to expire on 15 April 2002, may be renewed without the resubmission of an application.

4 April : Licences are granted to 20 new radio stations in Brittany and the Pays-de-la-Loire regions, 28 are renewed in Aquitaine, and 11 are renewed in French Polynesia.

18 April : 3 new radio stations are given licences in the Ile-de-France region: Radio Néo, Sport O’FM and Radio FG.

25 April : The members of the CSA travel to European Commission’s headquarters in Brussels. They are received by Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner for Education and Culture, Mario Monti, the European Commissioner for Competition, and Erkki Liikanen, the European Commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Society.

MAY

2 May : Renewal of the licence of local channel, Télé Lyon Métropole, for five years.

2 May : After studying the conditions under which the programme Loft Story is broadcast on M6, the CSA calls on the executive of the channel to put a stop to the promotion on air of the satellite and internet versions of the programme, to comply with guidelines relating to the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, and to take precautions to ensure that nothing could occur that would compromise human dignity. It also requests to be provided with the agreements entered into between M6 and the production company and those entered into between the participants and the two companies.

3 May : A public hearing is held with the executive of TF1 concerning the procedure by which the channel’s licence is to be renewed without the resubmission of an application.

9 May : The CSA publishes two opinions. One concerns the information society bill, which defines the legal provisions to govern online communication services. The other relates to the draft decree on broadcasting and film production.

14 May : The CSA adopts a recommendation directed at all the services broadcasting Loft Story or planning to show "reality-TV" programmes. It specifically asks that participants should be given time and space away from the cameras. Also, M6 is requested not too overemphasise the process of eliminating the participants as the game unfolds.

15 May : Draft conventions are drawn up with local channels TV37 (Tours), Canal 32 (Troyes), and TV Hautes-Alpes (Gap and Briançon).

15 May : Following remarks made on air on Skyrock radio, the station is served a formal notice to abide by provisions of the sections of the broadcasting law relating to respect for human dignity and the protection of minors.

30 May : A meeting is held with Nicolas de Tavernost, Chairman of the Board of M6, Alexis de Gemini, Project Manager for the channel’s real fiction programmes, and Axel Duroux, Chairman of ASP, the company which produces Loft Story, in order to hear their interpretation of several clauses included in the contracts of the Loft Story participants and to have certain points of the contracts changed. The following day, the Chairman of ASP confirms the commitments made by his company during this meeting in a letter to the CSA.

JUNE

5 June : An invitation to bid for the licences for eight FM frequencies is launched in Normandy.

7 June : TV7, a local channel for the Bordeaux area begins broadcasting. It had received its broadcasting licence on 26 July 2000.

8 June : Jacqueline de Guillenchmidt, Hélène Fatou, Joseph Daniel and Philippe Levrier travel to London for a one-day trip to study the latest developments in digital terrestrial radio.

11 and 13 June : The members of the CSA present the President of the Republic and then the Prime Minister with the CSA’s Annual Report for 2000.

20 June : The CSA publishes on its web site the draft version of the invitation to bid for licences for the broadcasting of national digital terrestrial television services, and invites the comments of all those directly concerned.

20 June : RTL is served a formal notice following remarks made on the air by a comedian which were prejudicial to human dignity and the protection of children and teenagers. The CSA decides to begin a dialogue with broadcasters about issues raised by the content of certain radio programmes.

28 June : Renewal of 11 Corsican radio stations’ licenses.

JULY

11 July : Adoption of a draft convention for the broadcasting on cable of Match Télé (later to take the name Match TV), which is to be the broadcast version of the weekly magazine Paris Match.

18 July : 7 new radio stations are granted licences in the Ile-de-France region. These are, Only Raï, Radio Capucins, Oxygène, Radio Droit de Cité/Radio Zep, Radio Cristal, Radio Plus and Yvelines Radio/Marmite FM.

24 July : Publication of an initial list of frequencies for national digital terrestrial television services and an invitation to bid for licences for 22 television services shared between four of the six multiplexes of the 29 sites initially identified. The text of the invitation is published in the Journal official and is placed online on the CSA’s internet site. Although a list of three frequencies for local analogue and digital television services is made public on the same day, the CSA announces that it will set aside terrestrial digital broadcasting capabilities for three local services per zone covered.

24 July : Signing of M6’s new convention, setting forth the channel’s obligation from 1 January 2002 to 28 February 2007. In the event M6 decides to take advantage of the priority it is entitled to in changing to digital mode, the term of the convention shall be extended for a further five years.

24 July : Local channel Canal 32 is granted a licence to broadcast in the Aube department.

SEPTEMBER

4 September : The CSA asks TF1 to provide it with the contracts of the participants of the game Les Aventuriers de Koh-Lanta, a "reality TV" programme shown during the summer.

4 September : The licences of 68 radio stations are renewed in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.

6 September : The CSA and the Lebanese national broadcasting council sign a cooperation agreement.

11 September : Draft conventions are adopted for the broadcasting of two new channels on cable aimed at senior citizens called Télé-Films and Télé Mélody.

11 September : The licences of 32 radio stations are renewed in Brittany and the Pays-de-la-Loire region.

18 September : The CSA decides to renew the licence of local channel Antenne Réunion which expires on 26 September 2002, without the resubmission of an application.

19 September : Draft conventions are adopted for the broadcasting on cable of the sport and cinema channel TPS Star and BRTV aimed at the Berber community.

25 September : The radio station Ici-et-Maintenant is served a formal notice for having broadcast remarks that were prejudicial to human dignity and the protection of minors.

OCTOBER

2 October : The licences of 14 radio stations are renewed in Aquitaine and three new radio stations, Radio Saint-Gabriel, Bonne Nouvelle Guyane and Vinyle Radio, are granted licences in Guyana.

2, 9 and 16 October : The licences of 42 radio stations are renewed in Brittany and the Pays-de-la-Loire region.

3 October : Following the terrorist attacks in New York on 11 September, the CSA strongly urges broadcasters to be particularly conscientious in relation to the principles of liberty, tolerance, individual dignity and respect for republican values, while acknowledging the fact that the majority of the broadcasting media had shown restraint and control.

9 October : A new convention is signed with TF1. It is due to come into force on 1 January 2002 and sets forth the channel’s obligations until 15 April 2007, or 15 April 2012 in the event the channel decides to take advantage of the priority it is entitled to in changing to digital mode.

9 October : A draft convention is adopted for the broadcasting of the cable channel OMTV, which is aimed at promoting Olympique de Marseille football club.

17 October : Meeting with the executive of Antenne Réunion in connection with the procedure for renewing the channel’s licence without resubmitting an application.

23 October : The CSA adopts a recommendation aimed at the broadcasting media in relation to the presidential election campaign of Spring 2002. The principles of such recommendation shall apply as from 1 January 2002.

23 October : 3 new radio stations, Lor’FM, Fun and Meuse FM, are granted licences in the Lorraine region, and another, Radio Évasion, is granted one in the Île-de-France region.

NOVEMBER

7 November : A draft convention is adopted for the broadcasting of local terrestrial channel, TV 37, in Tours. On the same day, the CSA decides to allow Aqui TV, a local channel broadcast in the Dordogne region, to benefit from the license renewal procedure by which the resubmission of an application is not necessary for its license due to expire on 14 November 2001.

7 November : Following the broadcasting of several sequences of film linked to the events of 11 September by Al Jazeera, and after having met with two representatives of the channel, the CSA sends a letter to the Chairman to remind him of the commitments he made in signing a convention with the CSA.

7 November : 15 radio station licences are renewed in Brittany and the Pays-de-la-Loire region.

13 November : An invitation to apply for licences is launched in Reunion for several FM frequencies.

15 November : The CSA decides to accept the programme Popstars, which has been showing on M6 since 20 September, within the category of broadcasting works, considering that it does not fall into any of the categories excluded under the definition set forth in décret number 90-66 of 17 January 1990 as modified. However, it decides to consult with all those concerned to discuss the relevance of the current definition in relation to new programme concepts.

15 November : M6’s and TF1’s broadcasting licenses are renewed for a period of five years.

15 November : A draft convention is adopted for the broadcasting on cable of TVST, the first channel where all the programmes are subtitled, which is aimed mainly at the deaf and people with a hearing disability.

20 November : Jean-Marie Cavada and André-Michel Besse are reappointed for five years to their respective positions as Chairman of Radio France and Chairman of Réseau France outre-mer.

21 November : Having studied the annual reports of the cable and satellite channels, the CSA decides to serve several formal notices and begin sanction procedures notably against channels who had failed for several years to respect the required quota of audiovisual or cinematographic works.

23 November : Canal 32, the local terrestrial channel in the Troyes area begins broadcasting.

27 November : A draft convention is adopted for the broadcasting on the Paris cable network of Télé Bocal, which had been granted a temporary terrestrial broadcasting licence between 1 April and 31 October

27 November : 29 radio licences are renewed in the Aquitaine region and 11 are renewed in French Polynesia.

28 November : The CSA reappoints Jean-Paul Cluzel for a further five years as Chairman of Radio France internationale (RFI). It also reappoints, again for a mandate of five years, Daisy de Galard, Bernard Chevry and Jean-Loup Dabadie to the board of directors of Radio France, Henriette Dorion-Sébéloué to the board of directors of RFO, and Francis Balle and Pascal Chaigneau to the board of directors of RFI. They are joined by two new directors appointed by the CSA: Anne Coutard and Mabousso Thiam.

DECEMBER

4 December : A draft convention is adopted for the broadcasting on cable of 2M Maroc.

4 and 18 December : The licences of 47 radio stations in Aquitaine are renewed.

5 December : Meeting with the executive of Aqui TV in connection with the renewal of its licence without the resubmission of an application.

6 December : The CSA meets with Alain Weill, Chairman of the Board of RMC Info, in order to receive information from him about the exclusivity agreement recently entered into by the station with respect to the broadcasting of the Football World Cup. The CSA decides to use its best endeavours to find a solution whereby everyone in France will be able to follow all the matches on the radio.

11 December : Three new directors are appointed by the CSA to the board of the Institut national de l’audiovisuel (INA): Nina Companeez, Michèle Cotta and Jacques Rigaud. Gérard Unger is reappointed by the CSA to the board of directors of the INA.

18 December : The CSA divides the use of the DAB blocks for which bidding had begun on 19 September 2000 between eight operators in the Ile-de-France region. However, the composition of service plans will not be decided upon until conventions can be drawn up, which is to say once the experimental law of 10 April 1996 is modified.

18 December : 5 new radio stations are granted licences in the Rhône-Alpes region: MTI, Belledonne FM, Europe 2 Beaufortain-Val-d’Arly, Rire et Chansons, and Europe 1.

24 December : The CSA asks the Chairman of Vivendi Universal, a shareholder of Canal+, to provide it with all the necessary information connected with the latest changes in the group’s distribution of capital. The broadcasting law precludes a company with a broadcasting licence to be owned in excess of 20% by persons from outside the European Community. In response to the changes which have taken place in terms of shareholding amongst broadcasting groups, the CSA asked the Minister for Culture and Communication to approach the Conseil d’Etat about how the provisions of the Law of 30 September 1986 as modified pertaining to such 20% threshold should be construed.