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🇫🇷 France /Culture & Society

Radio France chief defends putting people with different views on air

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Radio France President Sibyle Veil defended Charles Sapin’s arrival on France Inter, saying the public broadcaster should give airtime to people with differing views.
  • France Inter journalists and the Radio France inter-union group have called for a strike on Sept. 13 and 14 and demanded that Sapin’s weekly column be withdrawn.
  • Radio France executives defended the recruitment in the name of pluralism, while citing safeguards against renewed controversial conduct by Valeurs Actuelles.

Sibyle Veil says Radio France cannot be run by checking names off a blacklist. The public broadcaster’s president defended giving airtime to people who do not think alike, including a senior figure from the conservative magazine Valeurs Actuelles.

people who do not think alike

· Sibyle VeilThe Radio France president defended giving airtime to differing political viewpoints.

Her remarks came as France Inter faced a strike threat over Charles Sapin’s planned weekly column. Journalists have filed a strike notice for Sept. 13 and 14, protesting his arrival on the public-service station. The dispute has placed France Inter’s claim to political pluralism against employees’ objections to the magazine’s record and values.

Opening Radio France’s back-to-school news conference, Veil said she understood the anger and “sincere emotion” surrounding the decision because the public service belongs to everyone. But, she added, it is neither a battlefield nor a neutral, sanitized space. She described it as “an open, independent and impartial house” that brings people with different views onto the same station, reflecting the country itself.

the public service belongs to everyone

· Sibyle VeilShe acknowledged the reaction to Charles Sapin’s recruitment.

The staff of the public group adopted a motion unanimously rejecting Sapin’s arrival, saying the values associated with Valeurs Actuelles were incompatible with Radio France. France Inter chief Céline Pigalle met employees again Thursday to argue for the recruitment. Editorial director Vincent Meslet wrote internally that if Valeurs Actuelles returned to its “demons,” Radio France would act without delay. “We do not condemn anyone before they have spoken. We do not let anything pass afterward,” he wrote.

an open, independent and impartial house

· Sibyle VeilShe described Radio France’s intended role in the dispute over pluralism.

Valeurs Actuelles has faced several court convictions, including in 2021 over a depiction of Black lawmaker Danièle Obono as a slave. The magazine was then led by Geoffroy Lejeune, who has since moved to the Journal du dimanche.

We do not condemn anyone before they have spoken. We do not let anything pass afterward.

· Vincent MesletThe Radio France editorial director outlined the conditions for monitoring Sapin’s contribution.
About this summary

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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