Isis hackers take over French TV

HACKERS claiming to belong to Islamic State have hijacked the French television broadcaster TV5Monde overnight, halting its programmes and taking over its website and Facebook page.

The group, which runs 11 channels airing French-language programmes in 200 countries all over the world, suffered a three-hour blackout from about 22.00 last night.

The logo on the channel's Facebook page was replaced with the motto "Je suIS IS" and TV viewers were greeted with a blank screen.

A message left on Facebook by the hackers accused President Hollande of committing an "unforgivable mistake" by joining the US-led military coalition carrying out air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Le site et les antennes de TV5MONDE subissent en ce moment une attaque pirate de grande envergure. Nos équipes sont sur le pont. A bientôt.— TV5MONDE (@TV5MONDE) April 8, 2015

TV5Monde said the "unprecedented" attack was very sophisticated and had "severely damaged" its systems.

Channel director Yves Bigot said it would take several days for normal broadcasts to be restored across all of the group's channels. He said the attack would have required "weeks of preparation".