Paris (France) (AFP) – The editorial staff of France Inter stands up against the arrival of a manager from the magazine Valeurs Acteurs as editorialist this fall, which revives the heated debate on the pluralism of public broadcasting after the recent Alloncle commission of inquiry.

Published on: 02/09/2026 - 16:19

A general assembly of staff at Radio France, of which France Inter is the flagship, voted on Wednesday the principle of a strike "as soon as possible", in the absence of withdrawal.

- Charles Sapin, an explosive recruitment

Céline Pigalle, director of the public station since March, chose a panel of political and economic editorialists for the weekends, including the new deputy editorial director of the magazine Valeurs nationaux, Charles Sapin.

In a motion adopted unanimously on Wednesday, Radio France staff expressed their "categorical refusal" of this arrival, because the magazine carries values ​​that are not "compatible" with those of the public group.

For the SNJ-CGT, Current Values ​​is a “multi-convicted organ of the extreme right”.

The weekly has been convicted several times in court, notably in 2021 when it portrayed the rebellious elected official Danièle Obono as a slave. It was bought in 2025 by a trio of investors including the Catholic billionaire Pierre-Edouard Stérin.

The Society of Journalists (SDJ) of France Inter sees this as "a red line", while the SNJ (National Union of Journalists) believes that Radio France appears "like a doormat".

A reference to accusations of bias in public broadcasting in favor of the left, which motivated the creation of a parliamentary commission of inquiry a year ago by the UDR, allied to the National Rally (RN).

- Issue of “pluralism”

The management of France Inter, who met the editorial staff on Tuesday, asserted its desire to “organize the conversation between all opinions”.

It is an issue of “pluralism”, which is “a public service mission, all the more important in a presidential year”, according to her.

The journalist was approached while he was still at Le Point magazine. After having provided his first column on Sunday on the French debt, he came to the editorial team on Tuesday to assure that he intended to change the line of Valeurs Acteurs which published "indefensible papers" in the past, reported a participant.

But for Radio France staff, "pluralism cannot serve as a pretext for the legitimization of hate speech", they proclaim in the motion addressed to the group's president Sibyle Veil and Céline Pigalle.

This subject of pluralism has been central within public broadcasting since the commission of inquiry led by Charles Alloncle which polarized discussions throughout the past year.

The deputy was accused by the left and the central bloc of wanting to weaken this public service, or even privatize it, as advocated by the RN.

In a presidential year, “it freaks us all out, we have to be impeccable, there is this kind of good student syndrome,” confides a France Inter employee.

- Other eruptive subjects

This surge of tension is all the more acute since the journalist Thomas Legrand, also a columnist for Libération and who had worked at France Inter since 2008, was definitively removed from Radio France.

In September 2025, Mr. Legrand and another public broadcasting journalist, Patrick Cohen, were filmed without their knowledge in a restaurant with two PS officials. This video triggered the Alloncle commission.

Thomas Legrand had been suspended from the air but was thinking of returning. He received the support of many journalists.

Since the commission of inquiry, says an employee, "perhaps the thing that has changed is that we say to ourselves that we will not be defended."

Public broadcasting knows it is under scrutiny. On the CNews channel, in the hands of conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré, the return of France Inter was described as "unworthy", because of two humorous posts.

In one, Jesse was ironic about the possible arrival of “neo-Nazis” on the air after Charles Sapin. In the other, Ameziane compared the physique of RN deputy Jean-Philippe Tanguy to that of a “rat”.

Furthermore, the Paris Economic Activities Court is still seized of a request from Radio France and France Télévisions to convict the Bolloré media for denigration during the Legrand-Cohen affair. A new procedural hearing has been set for November 25.

© 2026 AFP

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