Changes are jostling at France Inter. The daily show of comedian Charline Vanhoenacker stops and becomes weekly and the journalist Marc Fauvelle takes over the management of information. The big maneuvers for next season have begun in the first radio station in the country, which seems to be undergoing a transformation. “I confirm that the daily life stops,” said Charline Vanhoenacker Wednesday evening in “C à vous”, on the France 5 channel.
On May 1, the newspaper Le Parisien/Today in France had indicated that the Belgian comedian was preparing to “confirm his decision” to end his show, “It’s still us! ”, broadcast every day on weekdays at 5 p.m. “It’s not my decision,” she nuanced Wednesday, noting that this show was “very high in the polls” audience, with 1.25 million listeners. “It would not have occurred to me to go to weekly (…), it was a proposal that was made to me, we will adapt”, she added, after losing the year past his daily morning ticket.
“Would it be a political choice? »
Successively entitled “If you listen, I cancel everything”, “By Jupiter! and “It’s us again!” “, his show has been running for nine years. Dedicated to the humorous treatment of current events, it brings together columnists such as Alex Vizorek and Guillaume Meurice. His example has often been brandished by public figures who accuse France Inter of leaning to the left. This is why its transition to a weekly rhythm has raised questions.
“Would it be a political choice? If so, guided by whom? “, tweeted LFI deputy Aymeric Caron on Thursday. Asked by AFP, the management of France Inter denied any political pressure and assured that “the tone of the program will not change”. “It is the characteristic of France Inter to be a space where political satire is expressed” and where comedians have “a freedom of tone which allows them to make fun of everyone, and above all of their bosses” , we added from the same source. “It is inseparable from France Inter and it will continue to be so. »
Marc Fauvelle becomes director of information
According to the management of public radio, the change in frequency is linked to the fact that it “becomes complicated to maintain a daily rhythm with a troupe” of comedians where “everyone has their individual projects”. While the audiences are high, “it may be the right time to suggest that they renew themselves, to make a different format”, with “a new breath”.
“It’s a real opportunity, and that’s also why Charline accepted it,” argued the management. According to her, the choice of the program that will succeed the daily life of the comedian is not stopped. In addition, the station formalized the imminent arrival of Marc Fauvelle, until then co-presenter of the morning show of France Info with Salhia Brakhlia, as director of information. He “is the person we need today to succeed Catherine Nayl”, who is retiring, said Adèle Van Reeth, director of Inter.
More changes to come
“He did a remarkable job on the morning show of France Info, which led the station very high, and he did a large part of his career on France Inter,” she added. More changes are expected in the coming weeks. France Inter must say who will replace Jérôme Garcin at the presentation of the emblematic “Le Masque et la Plume”, which he has hosted for thirty-four years, and which program will replace “L’Heure Bleue” by Laure Adler.
The radio had announced at the end of April the imminent departure of these two figures. Finally, Le Parisien/Today in France indicated at the beginning of May that Léa Salamé and Sonia Devillers were going to exchange their interviews, the first passing at 9:10 a.m. and the second at 7:50 a.m. The radio did not confirm. France Inter is at the top of radio audiences and for the first time exceeded the record bar of seven million daily listeners in the first quarter, according to figures published by Médiamétrie at the end of April. Adèle Van Reeth took over at the end of August 2022, succeeding Laurence Bloch.