The ad shows a family home in disarray - untidy bedrooms, a smoking oven, a man's shirt aflame on the ironing board - and asks: "Where are the women?"

The answer, of course, is "on France 3". "Most of our hosts are hostesses," reads the ad's closing tagline.

The clip was met with dismay and ridicule after its release on Twitter.

The idea behind the ad - that professional women are neglecting their household duties - "does not seem like a good way to promote professional equality", tweeted France's women's minister, Pascale Boistard.

Ms Boistard mentioned the new head of France 3, Delphine Ernotte, by name. Ms Ernotte, the company's first female chief, apologised for the ad, saying she had not seen it ahead of its release, and ordered it to be pulled.

The campaign was supposed to last three weeks but the ad will now not reach a television screen in France.

Ms Ernotte has a reputation for being tough on sexism. In her previous role as head of the phone company Orange, she levied €10 (£7.30; $11.20) fines for sexist remarks made in executive committee meetings, Le Monde reported.

(BBC)