France 24, the French state-owned international news and current affairs television network, paid a visit to Estonia on the occasion of the country’s centenary and conducted two extensive and balanced reports; Estonian World broadcasts both.
In two balanced reports, the network spoke to the Estonian president, Kersti Kaljulaid, as well as the ethnic Estonian Russian MEP, Yana Toom – known for her somewhat Kremlin-friendly opinions – in the border town of Narva.
The channel also chatted with Helen Sildna, the founder of the Tallinn Music Week and Station Narva; the liberal MEP, Urmas Paet; the government’s digital advisor, Marten Kaevats; and many others. In another sign of impartial and balanced journalism, France 24 also visited the far-right EKRE party’s conference and interviewed its leader, Mart Helme, who openly rebutted French president Emmanuel Macron’s European policies.
The programme touched a wide range of topics: the country’s security, the digital state, Estonia’s education system, artificial intelligence, the Estonian genome project, new political developments and the issues facing the Estonian Russians. Finally, the French channel interviewed the filmmaker Ilmar Raag, discussing on how Estonia has evolved since restoring its independence in 1991.
