Source: French to English Tester Published on: 2026-05-05
Source: The Conversation – in French– By Patrick Eveno, Emeritus Professor in Media History, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
After months of hearings, the parliamentary report on public broadcasting was published this Tuesday, May 5. What does it propose through its 69 recommendations?
The report of the commission of inquiryparliamentary report on the neutrality, operation, and financing of public broadcasting has just been published. 551 pages to “prepare minds for the privatization of public broadcasting,” believes the commission’s president, Jérémie Patrier-Leitus (Horizons), in the introduction to a report he denounces. He attacks the form, notably the “hypermediatization” by the rapporteur. He counts 36 interviews, including 11 on the radio and 10 in the written press, given by Charles Alloncle throughout the commission. “He partly moved our work outside the solemn framework of hearings in the Assembly,” he judges and notes “a massive use of social networks (more than 330 posts on X, 80 publications recorded on Facebook, 90 on Instagram…)” by the deputy, “even going so far as to tweet in real time during the hearings.”
The fixed ideas of Charles Alloncle, future Minister of Culture of an RN government?
Beyond the spectacle, which allows Charles-Henri Alloncle to position himself as a future Minister of Culture in the event of a victory for Marine Le Pen or Jordan Bardella in 2027, one must understand what this report proposes through its 69 recommendations. It is not easy, because, both in the proposals and in the analyses of the rapporteur, confusion and caricatural methods, the lack of thematic ordering and the numerous digressions unrelated to public broadcasting obscure the tracks; probably intentionally. There is a constant confusion between journalistic ethics and neutrality or impartiality; the methods include “name and shame,” the designation of named targets, amalgams and particular cases that are elevated to generalities; the digressions on journalist training in professional schools that do not admit far-right journalists (Christine Kelly, Laurence Ferrari, Geoffroy Lejeune, Pascal Praud, etc.) or RSF qualified as an activist association.
Finally, there are some fixed ideas: the salaries at France Télévisions (especially that of Delphine Ernotte, Recommendations 50 and 56), the host-producers (especially Nagui, Recs. 27 to 31), and production groups (especially Mediawan), all this little world that “would be gorging on public money.” This without taking into account the media context or history. Thus, Delphine Ernotte’s salary ranges between 332,000 (fixed part) and 400,000 euros gross (with the variable part), which is obviously a deterrent for many French people; but no comparison is made with that of Rodolphe Belmer, president of TF1, whose fixed part is 920,000 euros and variable part up to 1,220,000 euros, a total exceeding 2 million (5 times more), or even that of David Larramendy, president of M6, which reaches 1.5 million…
The emphasis placed on FTV suppliers (producers and companies, Rec. 24 and 25) does not take into account the history: since the breakup of the ORTF in 1974, everything has been done to prevent in-house production by the channels, so as not to repeat the experience of the SFP (Société française de production), which was a hotbed of unionism and strikes. Thus, in 1990, thedecrees taken by Catherine Tascato meet the demand of private producers, require public television to outsource 95% of its production. Admittedly, Delphine Ernotte negotiated the reduction of this quota to 75%, but to produce more it would be necessary to hire staff, while FTV is being asked to make savings…
Confusion again when the rapporteur wants to reduce sports on television (Rec. 42), under the pretext that thelaw already requires the free-to-air broadcast of certain major events. This ignores (or pretends to ignore) the fact that this does not prevent paying rights fees for the Tour de France or the French Cup, without which these broadcasts would be picked up by other channels. FTV is a company that operates within a competitive landscape.
Apart from the recommended cost-saving measures, the elimination of FTV Slash, F4, the radio station Le Mouv, the absorption of F5 by F2, the INA by the BNF, the merger of France Info radio and TV with France 24 (Recommendations 2, 44 to 49, 52 and 53), and the consolidation of whatever remains into a single company, what does Charles Alloncle want? Certainly, he aligns himself with a European and American movement of populist parties: in Switzerland (the UDC proposes a new vote), in Hungary (Orban), in the Czech Republic (Babis), in Italy (Meloni), in the United Kingdom (Farage), in the USA (Trump), who wantreduction of funding to better politically control public broadcasters. But what are the modalities?
A broadcasting system at the government’s command
The goal is to recreate not the ORTF, too powerful and too independent (although…) but theRTFwhich existed from 1949 to 1964 and which was under the orders of the successive governments of the 4e and of the VeTo the Republic. Create a shortened, constrained, monitored, and civil-servant-staffed French Radio-Television, which could thus become an instrument of propaganda for the executive in case of a victory in 2027. Alloncle advocates, without saying so, for civil servant employees (Recommendation 1 duty of neutrality, Recommendation 3 sanctions, Recommendation 4 duty of discretion), who would obey the orders of a pyramid whose apex would be the President of the Republic. This contradicts Recommendations 54 and 55 which call for employees to have greater versatility and a salary including a variable part…
The company would no longer be one or several companies, but a public administration which does not say its name but would apply the public procurement code and calls for tenders (Rec. 21 to 23). This without taking into account its competitive environment… This administration, whose president would be appointed by the President of the Republic (Rec. 19), the other members of the hierarchy by the Minister of Culture (Rec. 20), would no longer be managed by the latter but by the General Secretariat of the Government, dependent on the Prime Minister (Rec. 15). In short, a total grip by the executive. This will incidentally (or primarily) allow for an ideological cleansing, as shown by Recommendation 5, which proposes to remove any mention of ethnic belonging in the promotion of diversity imposed by the 1986 law on public broadcasting.
Patrick Eveno does not work for, advise, own shares in, or receive funds from any organization that could benefit from this article, and has declared no other affiliation than his research institution.
–ref. Alloncle Report: towards a publicly controlled audiovisual sector in case of an RN victory in 2027? –https://theconversation.com/alloncle-report-towards-a-public-broadcasting-service-at-the-mercy-of-the-government-in-case-of-rn-victory-in-2027-282197