A true symbol of social ascension, Adile Farquane has traced his path to the biggest French media, carried by a single force: mania. In this exclusive interview with Entrevue, he gives us his thoughts on meritocracy and provides valuable advice to young aspiring journalists. Today an emblematic figure of Beur FM, he looks back on 30 years of meetings with the greatest in the world and tells us how he naively refused the presentation of the famous adventure game Koh-Lanta.
Interview: You are a pure product of Republican meritocracy and social advancement, you grew up in the working-class neighborhoods of the Parisian suburbs, you joined TF1 at a very young age, how do you go from the city to TF1?
Adile Farquane: There is a single word that animated me throughout my youth and which took me from my neighborhood of Val-Fourré in Mantes-la-Jolie to TF1: niac. When I was a kid, I was struck by two things: injustice and inequality. Since the sixth grade I have had the drive and this thirst to go far. I had two options: to be a journalist or a lawyer. Fortunately I chose journalist, because our role is to challenge, inform, denounce, comment but above all to glean information. When we talk about inequality and injustice, the journalist can only be concerned by these two words.
Isn't the social elevator broken today?
My childhood friend Aziz Senni wrote a whole book on this question: “The social elevator is broken, I took the stairs”. I believe that when we take stock of these 40 years of social policy and the city, the social elevator is unfortunately still broken.
What advice would you give to a young person from working-class neighborhoods or rural France who wants to become a journalist?
The main advice is to never give up on your dreams, especially not to give up on anything. You have a dream, a goal, an idea, set a course for yourself, it's not going to be easy every day, there will be difficulties. As Mohamed Ali said, a fight must be won. And to achieve victory you have to work hard.
What is your fondest memory as a journalist in your 30-year career?
I only have beautiful memories, there is not one in particular. After my journalism studies, when I think back to my TF1 years, I only see positives. TF1 forged and trained me, it's a wonderful school, Radio France also being a magnificent adventure. But I don't have any particular memory, being a journalist is a vocation and whatever the media, we do it with love and passion.
You like conducting interviews, you have conducted many, what was your best interview?
I have two: Pierre Bourdieu and Nelson Mandela. In the early 90s, I was at Radio Droit de Cité, and Nelson Mandela was visiting UNESCO in Paris. I was terrified at the idea of meeting this great man. When I finally got to him, I was completely paralyzed by his presence and by the time I asked the first question. It showed, and he sensed it. He told me, "Take your time, it's just me. Ask your question and take your time." He put me at ease, and the interview went very well. Another source of pride for me is having interviewed four French presidents: Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy, Francois hollande and Emmanuel Macron. The art of interviewing is in my blood, it's in my DNA; I like to find something in others that you can't find elsewhere, and I succeed. The richness of the interview is exceptional because you get to discover the other person.
You have done television, radio and print media, which do you prefer?
I started with radio at the André Chénier college in Mantes-la-Jolie with a wonderful history-geography teacher, Mr. Yann Angneroh, in a radio club. That’s when I fell in love with radio. Radio is magical because you talk to the listener. So it’s quite natural that I answer: the radio. I also love doing TV, but radio is ingrained in me.
Speaking of television, I think you almost presented Koh-Lanta, can you tell this anecdote?
Yes, it's true. Etienne Mougeotte who was the boss of TF1 was my mentor. I was at the end of the 90s, a journalist on Téléfoot during the heyday of Zidane, of the 98 World Cup... One morning, Etienne Mougeotte called me into his beautiful office in the TF1 tower, he spoke to me on familiar terms and I greeted him and said to me : “Adile, I’m testing a few journalists and I’m thinking of you for an adventure game. My responsibility is to bring out new faces and add color to the air, are you interested? » And there, very naively, I was in my twenties, I had just finished my studies, I had a great idea of journalism. I replied to him: “Mr. Mougeotte, I am a journalist, I am not a presenter. I prefer to remain a journalist, I don't see myself hosting games in addition to adventure. » A few months later, I realized that I had refused the presentation of Koh-Lanta, which no one knew at the time, it was totally unknown. I blamed myself a little but it doesn't matter, you shouldn't have regrets, that's life, that's the way it is.
You present the current affairs show Les Zinformés on Beur FM every evening, what is the uniqueness of your show?
When you do a talk show and infotainment, you need a DNA, a mechanism that is specific to you to embody a section. The success of a program also depends in part on the personality of the journalist.
How do you define Beur FM, is it a general, community radio…?
It's quite simply a thematic radio station aimed at working-class neighborhoods and diversity. This thematic radio station is now open, the journalists come from all sides and are not necessarily “Beur”. Beur FM is the image of France today.
Often at the end of your shows you say “we’re not giving up”, why?
It's a phrase that has been with me for many years, it's a way of telling listeners that life is hard but that you should never give up, it's to give them strength.
Who are your inspirations?
There was Rachid Arhab at the time, when I was younger, he was the only one who looked like me and I often said that later I would be like him. I was also a fan of Bernard Tapie, he embodied the French success story. But there are also people with crazy careers: Nelson Mandela, Zinedine Zidane, Pierre Bourdieu, Martin Luther King But there are also my parents who played a fundamental role.
How do you see the evolution of the world of media and information processing?
I'm not a nostalgic person, who will tell you that it was better before. The media has evolved but it is in normal continuity. 30 years ago, we had six channels, then there was TNT, etc. When society moves, the media moves. We live in cycles, today social networks have taken over information. But the priority is the veracity of the information, we must ensure this because the media are the first power. Tomorrow, the media will certainly deal with artificial intelligence and the way in which we will have to deal with it.
Comments collected by Radouan Kourak
