towards the end of the year. However, various disputes began to surface. The ministers of the assembly that voted were angry that the recommendations voted for in the parliamentary commission were thrown out in favour of one prepared outside the parliamentary framework. Unionised journalists working for France Télévisions denounced the potential alliance with the private sector, calling it "the marriage of the snake and the rabbit"; Radio France International was angry that it would not be associated with the project. A headline published in Le Monde described the partnership having a "public channel, private owner", while other sections of the press criticised its modest budget of 80 million euro (compared with 600 million euro for BBC World). Finally the Minister for Foreign Affairs had worried that the budget would take away from existing funded channels such as TV5. Facing discontentment, the cabinet of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin delayed all discussion of the project in 2004. Then Foreign Minister Michel Barnier announced on 21 July that the channel would not be funded before 2007, which was confirmed by a vote in parliament on the Finance Bill. However, the Prime Minister acceded to pressure from the Élysée; a press conference by Raffarin on 9 December confirmed the launch of the new news channel in 2005, "I have decided to accept the proposed joint venture proposed by France Télévisions and TF1. As desired by the President, the new channel will draw on the talents of major French television companies, and will promote the expression of a French vision, more necessary than ever in the world today. The Government will present an amendment to the Finance Bill to provide for the start of the channel, to a total of 30 million euro." The amendment was carried the same day in the National Assembly. Public-private angst The start of 2005 concerned obtaining the authorisation necessary from the European Union and the relevant competition commissions. Trade union members working for France Télévisions continued to voice opposition to the project and circulated a petition in March 2005. The newly elected president of the public corporation, Patrick de Carolis, who assumed his position in the summer (and who had been accused of being too close to the President), expressed doubts about an alliance with TF1, "To be effective, you need a single driver in a car". He insisted that the channel be made available within France, which the