“It is 8 p.m., here are the names of two qualified candidates for the second round of the presidential election”. A symbolic sentence, a marker of democracy, that tens of millions of French people will hear on Sunday evening and that only a handful of journalists will utter on television. This privilege goes this year to Anne-Claire Coudray (accompanied by Gilles Bouleau) on TF1, to Nathalie Renoux on M6 and to Maxime Switek (in duet with Apolline de Malherbe) on BFMTV.
For these three faces of the news, a real marathon has started this week and it will undoubtedly be the last kilometers that will be the most difficult to endure. “It’s an intense evening, we’re not here to get bored,” smiles Nathalie Renoux, who will be at the helm of a special edition of the 19.45 while Anne-Claire Coudray evokes “an exciting evening but also a little stressful” since it will be necessary to adapt to the surprises and uncertainties of the exercise.
The most important “predictable” moment of the year
For Nathalie Renoux, “April 10 and 24 will undeniably be two very strong moments” to experience. It is impossible for the journalist to say whether it will be the most important evening of the year “for the simple and good reason that we do not know what the news has in store for us” but she considers even that they are at the top of the list “in terms of foreseeable events”.
It is also difficult for Anne-Claire Coudray to answer this question, as her career has been marked by “moments of extreme gravity or extreme joy, such as an evening of attacks or a World Cup victory” . But the presenter of the TF1 weekend JT quotes “a solemn moment when we really get out of the classic exercise of the newspaper”.
Concentration to overcome uncertainty
Each of the journalists grasps what is at stake in the 8 p.m. verdict and the pressure that will surround this moment. “It’s above all a question of maximum concentration in the quarter of an hour which will precede. We will undoubtedly be bombarded with information, we will have to remain very focused and very calm to display a clear and readable result”, notes Maxime Switek.
Journalists will know the names of two second-round finalists just minutes before the public, leaving a lot of doubt hanging over this special edition. “You have to accept that you don’t fully know what you’re going to say half an hour beforehand. This is what makes this evening a stimulating exercise for us because we are constantly adapting, ”underlines Anne-Claire Coudray who will host her second presidential evening on TF1 on Sunday and who knows how nothing is totally played.
Nathalie Renoux will be surrounded by a pollster and a political journalist on set. On the other hand, she will be the only conductor of this moment which she considers “super exciting” but “you must not let yourself be overwhelmed by your own emotion, by your own impatience, and stay channeled”, repeats- she. Because everyone agrees that this evening is an event that every journalist dreams of experiencing.
“I know that it is a great moment that awaits me”
“Being a journalist and announcing the name of the president is necessarily a point of pride, argues Nathalie Renoux. It’s times like this that make a presenter’s life so exciting. I know that a great moment awaits me. “A feeling shared by his TF1 counterpart. “People think we are militant and politicized. I don’t know how to explain to them that it’s quite the opposite. You cannot be a political activist because that prevents you from living these moments as you should live them, that is to say in a journalistic way”, argues Anne-Claire Coudray who will be there to collect the reactions of the various candidates and question the future of political parties.
If the two journalists from TF1 and M6 have already hosted presidential evenings, this will be a first for Maxime Switek. “There is excitement because it is a moment that I have never experienced live, that it is part of the expected passages when you are on the air, testifies the presenter of BFMTV. There, we have one of the most significant events in French politics so obviously, you want to experience it. There will inevitably be a little stress on Sunday evening but everything will be fine. »
In order to experience this first round as best as possible, different scenarios have been imagined beforehand so as not to be surprised by the announcement of the winners. “We know very well that we will have little time with each guest and that our first question will have to raise the issue for them, advances Maxime Switek. It is prepared in a certain way because there are things that we can consider. We need the full range of possible configurations and hypotheses to be able to react as quickly as possible. »
An evening littered with traps
Hosting an election night is not without risk. At the fateful moment, it is even possible that the names of two personalities qualified for the second round are not known. “There is a red line beyond which we could be forced to tell our viewers that we cannot decide between the two finalists and that we still need a few minutes”, explains Anne-Claire Coudray speaking of abstention, the undecided and the closing of all polling stations at 7 p.m. minimum as so many elements that could make it difficult to announce the results.
However, if they are known before 8 p.m. and the information is already circulating in the headquarters, care must be taken not to show the atmosphere that will reign there. “Depending on the HQ where you go, you see if people are more or less annoyed or very happy, says Nathalie Renoux. You have to be very careful not to show it on the air and not to give clues that could enlighten viewers. “No poll can in fact be the subject of a publication, distribution or commentary on the day of the election before “the closing of the last polling station on the metropolitan territory” indicates the law of 19 July 1977 relating to the publication and distribution of certain opinion polls.
Last trap to avoid for journalists: do not get carried away by the speakers they receive on set. “Candidates or their representatives are confrontational and have the unfortunate tendency to use journalists as vectors for their anger,” reports Anne-Claire Coudray. Of course, you should never get caught up in this game. You are neither the adversary nor the ally of anyone. »
Between the health crisis and the war in Ukraine, it has been repeated many times that this presidential election was not like the others. “Perhaps all of this will lead to election nights that will not look like the previous ones,” imagines Maxime Switek. The answer Sunday at 8 p.m. Or maybe a little later.