A vote in September
This postponement should not disrupt the agenda set by the minister to bring France Télévisions and Radio France closer together. A holding company must be created on 1er January 2025, headed by a president.
The struggle for power has already begun within the two groups. “Delphine Ernotte is running a visible campaign, while Sibyle Veil is in the position and playing the internal role by going against the wishes of the minister,” comments a former Radio France employee. The merger must be initiated on 1er January 2026.
Before the final vote on the law which will take place in September, negotiations continue, behind the scenes, to evolve the text under the influence of interministerial arbitration, political pressure and the weight of lobbies. Without forgetting the demands of the staff, on strike on May 23 and 24.
” Unity is strength “
“A form of political consensus is emerging today, outside Nupes, on the need to make this reform,” estimates a former leader of the sector. We see that we need to make savings while securing funding. » But at the top of power, positions diverge.
Faced with the determination of Rue de Valois, fueled by Rachida Dati’s political agenda, the Ministry of the Economy is inflexible, fearing financial excesses. On paper, the merger of support functions (human resources, finance, etc.) makes sense. However, no study has been commissioned to date by Rachida Dati’s office to assess the cost of the operation.
How effective will such a merger really be? “There is the somewhat beautiful idea that unity is strength,” says an executive from the Maison de la radio. But we have no visibility on the project. » For comparison, the merger of the regions cost the State more than 200 million euros, according to the Court of Auditors.
The merger excludes France Médias Monde
The expected economies of scale have also not been quantified. At Bercy, we promise that not a single check will be signed to finance this overhaul. Rachida Dati was asked to save 200 million this year on the operation of her ministry and there was no question, therefore, of making a move.
On the contrary. To everyone’s surprise, an amendment was passed in committee at the Assembly authorizing an uncapping of advertising revenue on public service broadcasts. A maneuver which had the gift of irritating, including right-wing elected officials who see it as a Bercy technique to provide other funding to Radio France.
The Minister of Culture also paid the price of another interministerial arbitration, in favor of the Quai d’Orsay. The scope of the merger excludes at this stage France Médias Monde (France 24, RFI, MCD). “It’s a bonus for bad management,” says a former public broadcasting manager, recalling the “very severe” report from the Court of Auditors on the functioning of the company.
A very recent sense of belonging
But public broadcasting does not obey the same rules or the same market logic as the private sector. “We sometimes have to accept strikes in order to make reforms,” whispers a senior figure in the sector. All public media journalist companies called, in a column published on May 22 by The world, to oppose a “demagogic, ineffective and dangerous” project.
Beyond financial questions, it is the very meaning of the project that questions employees. The strike, widely followed at Radio France, much less so at France Télévisions, expresses the great questioning of employees, but also a difference of appreciation between the two companies.
France Télévisions has already gone through its long transformation. The idea dates back to the end of the 1990s, the holding company was officially created in 2000, and the joint company bringing together around forty companies was only formed nine years later. The staff’s feeling of belonging to the same group is very recent, confides a member of management.
Culture difference
The rapprochement with the Round House will take a long time. “We just need to be convinced,” assures the management of Radio France. The synergies are already at work. » Particularly at France Info where programs like 8:30 a.m. franceinfo, The Eco Guest Or The Informed are already in double distribution.
Certain mergers, such as between France 3 and the regional branches of France Bleu, are taking longer than expected. But the synergies cannot be applied in all programs: “Digital uses and listening habits are different,” says the Round House.. There is no such thing as a catch-all platform. » And to cite the example of podcasts, broadcast on the Radio France platform: “Even the BBC came to see us last year to find out why our podcasts worked so well. »
The question of content clearly illustrates the difference in culture between the two entities. Radio France produces almost all of its programs while France Télévisions mainly uses external production companies. “They are very generous with their suppliers and politicians put pressure on them on this point,” explains a manager in the sector. This merger project worries the world of producers, who hate one-stop shops.
Staff status
The main difficulties of the reform lie in the staff status and agreements. “What they didn’t foresee is that salaries at Radio France are lower than at France Télévisions,” said a manager from the Maison de la Radio. If they merge, they will be obliged to align the statuses of all the acrobats of Radio France. »
Read alsoMerger of public broadcasting: the time for major maneuvers begins
A counterpart from France Télévisions agrees: “A merger that cuts into the advantages acquired does not exist. » Between the journalists, the program producers and their collaborators, the technicians, and even the musicians of the Radio France orchestras, the HR managers of the “French-style BBC” have work to do to bring order to this administrative millefeuille, consumed by his addiction to intermittency.
Dear comedians
Comedy tickets are expensive at France Inter. For having compared Benyamin Netanyahu to a “Nazi without a foreskin”, Guillaume Meurice was summoned to the disciplinary committee on May 30 with a view to possible dismissal. The comedian is accused of having “lacked loyalty” to his employer. In May, he repeated his joke without heeding the warning sent to Radio France by Arcom a few months earlier. A fault, according to management.
In the midst of the debate on reform, this controversy comes at a bad time. The director of France Inter, Adèle Van Reeth, however, did not plan to touch Charline Vanhoenacker’s show, The Great Sunday Evening, of which Guillaume Meurice is one of the chroniclers. “He got himself into difficulty on his own,” we slip to Inter. The only condition set by management: save money on collective sketches, which are too expensive. “Charline’s show costs the equivalent of three daily shows,” whispers this same source.