France Télévisions and France Inter criticized for the recruitment of Charles Sapin of Current Values

France Inter and France Télévisions are facing criticism this Thursday from several trade union organizations after the recruitment of Charles Sapin, deputy editorial director of Valeurs Acteurs, as a political columnist. At France Télévisions, the CGT, the CFDT and the SNJ are demanding its removal from Franceinfo TV and denouncing a decision which amounts to “trivializing the far-right press”.

In a press release, the unions believe that this choice feeds “the feeling of unease within the teams” of France Télévisions, a few months after the end of the commission of inquiry into public broadcasting. They present Current Values ​​as “the heir to a long and dark tradition, that of the French far-right press, with its methods and its hatreds”, and criticize it for having “largely contributed” to “the violent campaign of disinformation and denigration directed against public broadcasting”.

Against the methods of CNews and Valeurs Actuelles

The CGT, CFDT and SNJ also contest the argument of pluralism put forward to justify this arrival. “Importing the methods of CNews, recruiting journalists from Valeurs Actuelles, does not strengthen pluralism,” they say.

France Télévisions, for its part, defends the presence of Charles Sapin on its antennas. Questioned by AFP, the management emphasizes that he intervenes on Sunday “facing Rokhaya Diallo”, anti-racist activist, as part of “a debate, a confrontation of different points of view”. She also specifies that he occasionally participates in “Before 8 p.m.”, like other external speakers.

Radio France defends “pluralism”

The protest also concerns France Inter, where Charles Sapin must provide a political editorial every Sunday. The management of public radio, which justifies this choice by the desire to guarantee “pluralism” as a presidential year approaches, is facing a strike notice filed by the Radio France inter-union for Sunday September 13 and Monday September 14.

Our file on France Télévisions

The unions are demanding the withdrawal of this column, while the president of Radio France, Sibyle Veil, maintains her position. She defended the decision to give a voice to “people who do not think the same thing”, while the arrival of the head of Valeurs Actuelles continues to arouse tensions within public broadcasting.