Two months before the abolition of the national newspapers of France 3, the unions of France Télévisions are calling for a three-day strike from Tuesday to protest against this disputed reform from the start. Called Tempo, this reform is supposed to come into force on September 4. It provides for the abolition of 12/13 and 19/20, the national information newspapers of France 3, and their replacement by 24 regional editions. These editions will include topics on national and even international news.
At the same time as the strike, this reform was challenged before the Paris court: CSEs (social and economic committee) of France Télévisions took legal action to contest the way in which the management of the public group conducted the information-consultation procedure on the project. The decision is due on Tuesday, the first day of the strike. “In case of victory, (the reform) will be postponed for several months. But that will not be enough for us,” the unions said in their strike call.
The antennas will be turned upside down this week
“Tempo is a low cost regionalization project”, they thundered, taking up a formula that they have been hammering since the project was announced in July 2022. The strike notice covers the days of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and is signed by seven unions (CGT, CFDT, FO, SNJ, CGC, Sud and Unsa).
It risks upsetting the antennas of the public group, starting with France 2 and France 3, while the news is loaded with the riots, and the Tour de France, broadcast by the public service, started on Saturday. “We hope that the strike will be followed,” said AFP Serge Cimino, union representative SNJ (National Union of Journalists). “We consider that there are projects hidden behind the project,” he added.
Concerns for the future
The unions are particularly concerned about the hypothesis of a merger of France 3 and the regional radio stations France Bleu in the years to come. Public audiovisual companies, including France Télévisions, are currently negotiating with the State their contracts of objectives and means (COM) for 2024-28.
By presenting the reform in July 2022, Delphine Ernotte, CEO of France Télévisions, had indicated that it was a question of strengthening the local “anchoring” of the newspapers of France 3, to meet the expectations of viewers. This project “does not obey a logic of savings”, she had assured.