The UK's Guardian newspaper reports that a bitter battle has erupted at the French 24 hour news network 'France 24'.  Amid threats of sackings, strike action, and rivalries in the newsroom, things are reported to have taken a very bitter turn for the worse.

The Media Guardian reports;

When launched four years ago France 24 was billed as a "CNN à la française": a television news channel that would counter the influence of Anglo Saxon media and make the voice of France heard around the world.

In recent days, however, that voice has sounded rather more anguished than authoritative.

Engulfed in rivalries and recriminations, the newsroom has been plunged into crisis, with one union threatening a  strike and another planning a vote of no- confidence. Journalists mutter about a "battle of the bosses" fuelling dissent. One even likened the atmosphere to the Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre: vicious, unrelenting and very, very, bloody.

Since last week, when rumours of sackings and suspensions at the highest level of editorial started flying round the newsroom, tensions that had long been bubbling under the surface have burst forth in spectacular fashion.

At the heart of the latest troubles are the channel's two chiefs: Alain de Pouzilhac, the chief executive known to staff as "Poupou", and his second-in-command, Christine Ockrent, one of France's best-known journalists whose imperious persona and brusque leadership have earned her the nickname "the Queen".

Read more here.