The controversy had continued to swell since the announcement of the programming, in prime time on C8, ofUnplanned, an American film on voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion). In its press release, the channel even indicated that this fiction had “sparked controversy by adopting the point of view of anti-abortion activists.” In the end, the dissemination ofUnplanned Monday evening ended in a resounding failure: it was followed by only 304,000 people, an audience share of 1.5%, according to figures from Médiamétrie
relayed by Puremédias.
C8 emerges in fifteenth place of the audiences of the evening, behind TFX, RMC Story and Chérie 25. And far behind the 4.5 million viewers (21.1% of audience share) at the rendezvous of the unpublished episode of Camping Paradise on TF1, winner of the evening.
Unplannedis the story of Abby Johnson, director of a family planning clinic, who, after attending an abortion, says she experienced a “spiritual awakening”. “It is a film produced by the evangelists, a movement very committed to what is called public religion, that is to say an affirmed presence of religion in the political and media spheres”, explained to 20 minutes Mihaela-Alexandra Tudor, lecturer specializing in the field of religion and the media. It underlined the “tendency of the evangelists to participate actively in the defense of certain pro-life orientations through the media and the productions of popular culture. “
“A despicable anti-abortion propaganda tool”
Just before the start of the film, C8 brought up the following message: “In France, every woman has the right to dispose of her body as she sees fit. This right is guaranteed by law. This story, which only commits its author, does not mean questioning this right but measuring its importance. “
On Twitter, Unplanned was among the most commented topics on Monday evening. The vast majority of messages defended the right to abortion. Elisabeth Moreno, Minister Delegate in charge of equality between women and men,
Called it “an abject anti-abortion propaganda tool” which “goes against our values”. “Access to abortion is a right in France (…) we will fight to guarantee it! No to hindrance, no to guilt “,
Marlène Schiappa tweeted, Minister Delegate in charge of Citizenship.