BFMTV will give Arnaud Montebourg a new weekly show, airing Fridays at 7 p.m., starting this week. The program, titled "Made in Montebourg," will feature the former minister alongside journalist Paola Puerari. The channel aims to establish a distinctive format in the early evening slot, a highly competitive time where 24-hour news channels seek strong personalities to capture viewers' attention in the early evening.
Montebourg's selection fits within a well-known profile in the political and media landscape. A former Minister of Industrial Renewal and then of the Economy under François Hollande, he cultivated an image of a sovereignist leftist, focused on reindustrialization and the defense of national production. Since leaving the government, he has also developed the persona of a "Made in France" entrepreneur, popularized among the general public by his commercial initiatives, including a honey marketed as being produced in France. On BFMTV, he promises a program focused on solutions, rejecting constant confrontational debates.
A "Made in Montebourg" event to compete with De Villiers on CNews
In reality, the "face-off" is playing out primarily at a distance, in the realm of audience and editorial content. At the same time, CNews offers a popular and decidedly right-wing perspective with Philippe de Villiers, a conservative and sovereigntist figure known for his strong stances. BFMTV counters with a personality from the opposite end of the political spectrum, but one capable of occupying the same register of economic sovereignty and the national narrative through industry—a theme that also resonates with a moderate right-wing electorate. This strategy is reminiscent of the logic of prime-time show battles on digital terrestrial television, where a time slot is built around a personality, a tone, and segments that are then shared on social media.
Arnaud Montebourg presents his project as "non-partisan" and centered on "Made in France," with the ambition of uniting consumers, producers, manufacturers, farmers, and public authorities around a "major national cause." This positioning comes at a time when reshoring, industrial dependence, and economic sovereignty have gained prominence since the health and energy crises. BFMTV, struggling with declining ratings and now under the ownership of CMA Media, is seeking to strengthen its on-air personal programming in the face of competition that has firmly established an opinion-based offering. The precise details of the format and its integration into the channel's schedule will need to be confirmed by an official announcement, but the stated objective is clear: to establish a recognizable program in a time slot that has become a key indicator of strength for news channels.
