Censors Pull Plug On French Talk-Radio

Government censors punished a radio station Friday with an unprecedented 24-hour shutdown because one of its talk-show hosts described reports of a policeman’s murder as “good news.”

It was the first time a major radio station in France has been suspended from broadcasting.

The president of Skyrock radio, Pierre Bellanger, apologized for the remark and said the offending program would be taken off the air temporarily.

But he protested the decision by the government-appointed Higher Audiovisual Council to impose a 24-hour shutdown on the station Monday.

The offending remark concerned police officer Georges Janvier, who was killed in Nice during a shootout between rival gangs Monday night.

An as-yet-unidentified Skyrock show host, reporting the incident Tuesday, said, “There’s a cop who’s died in Nice, and that’s rather good news.”