Nearly five years after leaving Europe 1, Laurent Cabrol still hasn't gotten over the way the station dismissed him. The former weather presenter, now 78 years old, assures... Le Parisien having been dismissed without any real tribute, without thanks from management and without additional compensation.
"They threw me out like trash. Without a goodbye, without a thank you, without a drink. Without a single euro more than my final pay.", he denounces, looking back with great bitterness on the end of his 45 years spent at the radio station.
A loyalty of 45 years swept away in a few moments
Laurent Cabrol joined Europe 1 in 1976. For nearly half a century, he held numerous positions there, from reporting to presenting news programs and shows, before becoming one of the station's iconic weather presenters. For decades, he got up in the middle of the night to go to the studios and deliver his morning broadcasts. His warm tone, his connection to rural life, and his deliberately accessible way of presenting the forecasts helped make him one of Europe 1's most memorable figures.
In the summer of 2021, management decided not to renew his contract as a weather presenter. He was offered another segment, but Laurent Cabrol refused it, considering that it did not correspond to his profession and the position he had held for so many years.
A very emotional farewell on air
On August 20, 2021, Laurent Cabrol was nevertheless able to speak to listeners one last time. Visibly moved, he spoke of a separation decided "amicably" and declared that Europe 1 was the radio station where he was born, grew up, and which he loved so much. "In 45 years at this station, I've done everything: reporting, news broadcasts, programs... and of course the weather forecast, which I never wanted to give up."he reminded everyone before concluding: "I'll leave you now, I kiss you all and I love you."
Behind these dignified and affectionate farewells to the public, the presenter now claims that the break with management was much more brutal. He says he received no ceremony, no organized event to celebrate his immense longevity, and no financial gesture beyond the legally required sums.
An eviction amidst the transformation of Europe 1
His departure occurred during a particularly turbulent summer for Europe 1. The station was undergoing a major overhaul of its programming schedule, and several long-standing figures and prominent personalities had also left the radio station, including Julie Leclerc, Nicolas Canteloup, Wendy Bouchard, Michaël Darmon, and Bertrand Chameroy. This period was also marked by internal tensions and the closer editorial and audiovisual ties between Europe 1 and CNews. Laurent Cabrol, whose role no longer aligned with the new schedule, learned that his weather segment would not be renewed.
TF1 had already dismissed him abruptly.
This departure from Europe 1 was not the first painful dismissal in Laurent Cabrol's career. In 2008, TF1 had removed him from his presenting role. TéléshoppingThe show, which he had hosted for 14 years, was cancelled despite satisfactory ratings and commercial results. He recounted learning of his replacement during a meal with two executives. During the taping of his final show, he explained that the network was asking him to leave. This line was subsequently edited out, leaving viewers with only the much more neutral announcement of his departure.
A huge career in radio and television
Laurent Cabrol didn't limit himself to the weather forecast on Europe 1. The journalist from the Tarn region also presented the weather on Antenne 2, hosted by... Numbers and letters, A gold family, The Steps to Glory and directed Téléshopping on TF1. He has also written several novels and books devoted to nature, climate, and rural life. Having withdrawn from the media since leaving Europe 1, he lives primarily on his farm near Mazamet, in the Tarn region. But time has clearly not erased the humiliation he felt when he left the station to which he had dedicated 45 years of his life. Five years later, Laurent Cabrol no longer hides his anger: behind the moving farewells he delivered to listeners, he believes, lay a cold and ungrateful dismissal.
