French TV Channel Pulls Documentary After Nuclear Attack on Tel Aviv Depiction

French television channel RMC Découverte has removed a documentary about future French weaponry from all its platforms after it emerged that a simulation of a nuclear missile attack depicted Tel Aviv as the target city. The documentary, titled "The New Rafale, Drones and Cannons: The Revolution in French Armament," aired on September 1 and explored France's next-generation weapon systems, including the Rafale F-5 fighter jet and the future ASN4G nuclear missile, which is still under development and slated for service around 2035. The missile is expected to have a range exceeding 1,000 kilometers and be 10 to 20 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.

To illustrate the weapon's capabilities, the film included a 3D simulation showing a fighter jet launching a missile towards a coastal city, followed by a nuclear mushroom cloud. However, the city depicted was identified as Tel Aviv. The identification was made by Eloïse Payre, a nuclear researcher at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), who alerted the channel. Reports suggest the independent production company behind the film may have used footage from a computer game, possibly unaware that the city shown was Tel Aviv.

On September 18, RMC Découverte issued a public apology on X, formerly Twitter, stating they were "immediately removing the documentary from all its platforms" and "suspending any further broadcasts." The channel confirmed the simulation "uses an image of Tel Aviv" and offered "sincere apologies" to viewers, explaining the segment came from a professional image database that had been "incorrectly identified and cataloged."

The channel also indicated it would consider "any appropriate legal action against those responsible for the error." A revised version of the film, omitting the Tel Aviv simulation, is expected to be released. Approximately 241,000 viewers saw the original broadcast before its removal. Israel's Ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, shared the clip, calling it an "animated demonstration of a French nuclear attack on Tel Aviv," but he believed the depiction was not malicious. The film's director, Alex Gary, also expressed deep shock, stating he was unaware the city was Tel Aviv and would not have included the simulation if he had known.