A bridgehead for the presence of the far right on television, CNews has
in recent months been the subject of a decision by the Council of Stateand parliamentary commissions of inquiry while the question of renewing
its TNT frequency will arise in 2025. But beyond its particular case, it
is also the question of media concentration that arises. ---- At the end
of 2016, a historic strike affected the channel which is still called
I-Télé. In question, the management of the antenna, the reduction of
resources, and the programming of Jean-Marc Morandini, then targeted by
investigations for sexual harassment and corruption of minors. The
strike lasted 31 days, but failed in the face of the majority
shareholder of the Canal+ group, Vincent Bolloré. More than three
quarters of teams resign. On February 27, 2017, it was on this pile of
ashes that the antenna changed its name and became CNews.
A French "Fox News"
It has been almost 20 years since Bolloré began building its media
influence, by creating the free daily newspaper Direct matin and buying
the CSA polling institute in 2006 in particular, before gradually
attacking the Canal+ group. But the creation of CNews marks a more
direct and assertive turning point in the use it makes of its media:
starting from a blank page, CNews gradually becomes a channel entirely
dedicated to peddling far-right thought, a French-style Fox News.
A policy which would subsequently be confirmed with the purchase of JDD,
which would undergo similar treatment with the appointment as editorial
director of Zemmourist Geoffroy Lejeune, freshly arrived from Valeurs
Actuelles. The announcement again triggered a strike, which lasted 40
days before 90% of the editorial staff resigned after negotiating
doubled severance pay. The message is clear: Bolloré is the sole master
of the media that it acquires and spends lavishly on it.
Vincent Bolloré is the majority shareholder of the Bolloré group and
shareholder of Universal Music Group, as well as the former chairman of
the supervisory board of Vivendi and the Canal+ group.
A particularity of CNews and its neighbor C8 (which hosts, among others,
Cyril Hanouna), they have wide distribution thanks to their TNT
channels, ensuring that they are potentially present on all TV stations
in France. A concession awarded by Arcom[1]whose renewal will be
examined in 2025. It is in this context that several pressures have been
felt in recent months.
Phillipe de Villiers weekly columnist
In February, a decision by the Council of State, referred to by
Reporters Without Borders, specifically targeted CNews and highlighted
its shortcomings, particularly in terms of political pluralism. The
decision marks a novelty by considering that pluralism should not be
measured by only taking into account the positions of political guests,
but also those of columnists and journalists. This clarification takes
on its full meaning when we know that CNews formerly received a daily
newspaper hosted by Eric Zemmour in full preparation for his 2022
presidential campaign, but considered as a columnist until he had
officially announced his candidacy. The channel has not changed its
line, today offering a weekly program to... Philippe de Villiers, also
considered a simple columnist.
This decision by the Council of State is above all a reminder aimed at
Arcom, which is slowly increasing the fines concerning the channels of
the Canal+ group. In the last three years alone, C8 and CNews have
accumulated more than 20 warnings and convictions, for a total of more
than 5 million euros in fines. A record, but nothing compared to the 6
billion euros in turnover of the Canal+ group in 2023, or the more than
13 billion euros in turnover of the Bolloré group. Paralyzed by fear of
accusations of censorship, the Regulatory Authority is stuttering, its
president being directly appointed by Emmanuel Macron. The rules of the
convention for allocating the TNT frequency of CNews are however clear,
and mention an obligation of pluralism of the currents of thought and
opinions expressed there, difficult to fulfill by the channel of which
more than 80% of guests · They are right-wing or far-right[2].
With the approach of renewals of concessions by Arcom, left-wing groups
in the Senate and the National Assembly have requested commissions of
inquiry into CNews and C8. In particular, they made it possible to
realize how insignificant the financial factor is in Bolloré's
influential business. In three years, the two channels represent a
result of more than 150 million euros in losses, linked to their
economic models, but also to the flight of advertisers who were numerous
to withdraw their advertisements during Eric Zemmour's campaign . An
investment that does not worry the multi-billionaire, having no problem
absorbing these losses within the profits of the Canal+ group.
150 million euros in losses, absorbed by Canal+
These commissions will also have made it possible to attend a hearing of
Vincent Bolloré, summoned by the National Assembly. We could hear him
declare "I'm not going to put on the air something I don't believe in",
but also expose his anti-abortion opinions and his Catholic fervor. But
for the most part the exercise will have essentially remained in the
register of wooden language.
If we can hope for an end to the concession for the channels of the
Canal group, which would at least have the effect of reducing their
audiences or even closing down two extreme right megaphones, it is more
broadly the question of concentration of the media in the hands of a few
billionaires which is posed. Because Bolloré is not limited to
television, it also controls Europe 1, JDD, Paris Match and a whole host
of magazines. These resources are also put to good use when it is
necessary to defend CNews against Arcom[3].
Bolloré, the tree that hides the forest
And while all eyes are on the Breton billionaire, others are also
building their own little media empire. This is recently the case of
Rodolphe Saadé, close to Macron and fifth richest person in France. In
recent years, the heir to the CMA CGM maritime group has purchased the
newspapers La Tribune, La Provence and Corse Matin, as well as 10% of
the M6 group and a stake in the Brut media. On March 15, it acquired the
Altice group, including BFM TV and RMC. If he is sometimes presented as
a more centrist opponent of the fascist Bolloré, it is by forgetting
that between capitalists, there is above all a community of interest
which goes far beyond debates of ideas. On February 29, 2024, the
Bolloré group sold its Transport & Logistics subsidiary to CMA CGM, for
the tidy sum of 4.85 billion euros.
Well beyond channels and personalities, these mechanisms of media
concentration point to the fundamental incompatibility between
capitalism and the possibility of a free press, and through it with
democracy. Faced with capitalist accumulations, let us continue to
support independent, free, alternative and activist media at our level.
N. Bartosek (UCL Alsace)
To validate
[1]The Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority
(Arcom) is the result of the merger of the CSA and Hadopi in 2022.
[2]"36% of CNews' political guests are far-right", Libération, June 14,
2021.
[3]"CNews and Arcom: did you say censorship?», Sébastien Fontenelle in
Blast, February 20, 2024.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Medias-CNews-fin-de-concession
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