Morocco bid for Monaco radio

PARIS (Reuter) - France yesterday confirmed press reports of a controversial bid by a Moroccan group for a stake in Radio Monte-Carlo (RMC), a loss-making radio station which is to be privatised by the French state.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Daniel Bernard, said a Moroccan financial group had expressed interest. The station has large audiences in North Africa and the Middle East but low ratings in France.

RMC journalists are concerned that the station could come under the control of the Moroccan government, which they accuse of ignoring press freedom and human rights.