The French media climate has strongly tense in recent days. In an interview with Monde, Delphine Ernotte-Cunci, president of France Télévisions, has accused CNews to be a "far-right channel". With Sibyle Veil, president of Radio France, she also contacted Arcom to denounce a "systematic smear campaign" that CNews and Europe 1 are said to have carried out against public media, in connection with the Cohen-Legrand affair.
These statements provoked an immediate reaction from the Lagardère group, owner of Europe 1, and its directors.
Arnaud Lagardère takes the floor
In an official statement released yesterday, Arnaud Lagardère, manager of Lagardère Radio SCA, firmly defended his teams and the station's image. Here is his full statement:
"I have taken note of the accusations, relayed by the press, made by the Presidents of France Télévision and Radio France against Europe 1. These excessive attacks reflect a surprising feverishness on the part of these public service managers and are a crude victimization maneuver when the time should be for explanations following the Cohen Legrand affair.
But beyond that, these comments call into question the work and the honorability of all the journalists and collaborators of Europe 1, which I cannot tolerate.
Europe 1 is a generalist radio station, subject to legal obligations of pluralism and to a conventional framework which has been further strengthened far beyond that to which its public and private competitors are subject, on the occasion of its autonomy under my exclusive control in October 2023 with the approval of Arcom.
Europe 1's employees are doing remarkable work, which is reflected in its recovery momentum.
This public success is the best response and cannot be tarnished by the extravagant accusations of its competitors.
Europe 1 faces criticism of public service
In this response, Arnaud Lagardère rejected outright the accusations of the presidents of France Télévisions and Radio France, which he considered an attempt to divert attention from the Cohen-Legrand affair. He emphasized the solidity of the rules governing Europe 1 and the quality of the work of the station's journalists.
This exchange of words demonstrates the growing tensions between public broadcasting and private media linked to the Vivendi group. By calling CNews "far-right channel", Delphine Ernotte crossed an unprecedented threshold which immediately triggered indignant reactions, not only from the management of CNews, but also from Europe 1 through its manager Arnaud Lagardère.
The controversy calls into question both pluralism and the editorial responsibility of the media, especially the public service, and the role of Arcom, the regulator responsible for arbitrating these debates, but which strangely seems much more lenient with the public service than with certain private channels...
