a commission of inquiry under high tension between France Télévisions and CNews

From the opening, the tone quickly rose. The president of the commission, Jérémie Patrier-Leitus (Horizons), called for restraint: “I am counting on everyone to show our ability to work together.” Launched Tuesday, November 25 at the request of the group of Éric Ciotti, president of the Union of Rights for the Republic, affiliated with the National Rally (RN), this commission of inquiry must examine the neutrality, operation and financing of the public service. A powerful parliamentary tool, capable of hearing leaders, journalists and political leaders under oath.

It opens after the “○Legrand-Cohen○” controversy, born following the broadcast of a private exchange between two journalists from France Inter and officials of the Socialist Party. A sentence from Thomas Legrand, suggesting that he could “do the right thing” against Rachida Dati before the municipal elections in Paris, has revived accusations of political bias.

For the right and the RN, the public branches lean to the left, even though they are financed by 2.4 billion euros in state grants. The committed humor of certain France Inter columnists is singled out. Others criticize the regular highlighting of guests, researchers or artists identified as close to the left. During the first hearing, Philippe Ballard (RN) was surprised that a Radio France producer claimed to have “○specifications○” to “○fight against the extreme right○”.

For several weeks, these criticisms have found renewed echo on the continuous news channel CNews. And tensions are rising, especially since Delphine Ernotte-Cunci, president of France Télévisions, described her competitor as a “far-right” channel. Pascal Praud, a CNews figure, saw it as a “○declaration of war○”.

The conflict then moved to the legal field: France Télévisions took the channel owned by billionaire Vincent Bolloré to the commercial court for “disparagement”, accusing CNews of maintaining a systematic discourse against their editorial staff. The broadcast, Thursday, November 27, of an issue of Further investigation entitled “○News or misinformation∘? The CNews○ method, further fueled the confrontation. A very media duel, in a polarized country where information becomes a political issue in itself.