April 23, 2017, at 8 p.m. sharp.
27.5 million viewers are glued to their small screen to follow the results of the first round of the presidential election, ie 47% of the total audience.
At this decisive moment, it was TF1 that won the support of the public: 8.5 million citizens, against 8.1 million on France 2. But La Deux regained control from 8:25 p.m., before prevailing over the duration.
Five years later, the front page intends to win the battle.
His strategy: reduce the hourly sail.
Gilles Bouleau and Anne-Claire Coudray will start the special edition at 6:30 p.m. (instead of 7 p.m.) to analyze the issues before launching the debates, but will encourage policy buffs to continue on LCI from 9:30 p.m. (and no longer 10:30 p.m.), in order to make room for the rebroadcast of the film "the Visitors".
A first.
“We do not refrain from going beyond according to the scores”, nuance Antoine Guélaud, editor-in-chief of the evening and director of special operations.
“It shows that for TF1, the French have a lack of interest in politics, tackles a competitor.
The chain has done less than usual since the start of the campaign.
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Read alsoPresidential: the undecided, a crucial issue for the candidates
As for the means deployed, the front page highlights augmented reality and will mobilize 300 people, including around thirty special envoys throughout France.
“We won't just be in Paris, specifies Antoine Guélaud.
We will go, for example, to Clisson (Loire-Atlantique) where the participation rate was 86% in 2017, the highest.
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As with the previous election, the two star presenters will leave the 8 p.m. set for another at the heart of the channel, when France 2 will opt for a political show in the lobby of its headquarters orchestrated by Anne-Sophie Lapix and Laurent Delahousse.
The main representatives of the parties are expected on the set.
La Trois will provide coverage from 7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m., but will not offer the traditional regional lighting, usually scheduled for the second part of the evening.
A group choice, while Franceinfo will offer analyzes and decryption all night long.
Big means for BFMTV, system D for CNews
“At 8 p.m. Sunday, it will be a big leap into the unknown, says Maxime Switek, who will be on the air at BFMTV and RMC from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. with Apolline de Malherbe.
Some scenarios are more likely than others, but anything is still possible.
You have to be ready to break the conductor.
To cover this first round, the first news channel will send 35 teams of journalists to the various HQs of the candidates, or to the French people who voted, or not.
“It is the evening of the year when BFM deploys the most resources, adds the presenter of
22h Max
.
Our main fear is to catch the Covid.
We all put the masks back on.
It would be unthinkable to miss this.
He “crammed” so as not to look at his files.
“We must in particular know the previous abstention figures and scores for each party”, adds the one who will be on the air for Jean-Baptiste Boursier and others, until the pre-morning advanced at 3 am.
At CNews, which will make a joint antenna with Europe 1, Laurence Ferrari then Sonia Mabrouk will be the headliners from 7 p.m. to midnight.
Apart from that, the Bolloré group's news channel, with very limited resources for this type of event, relies on the D system. Its main asset?
His band of editorialists, from Mathieu Bock-Côté, who was presented as the Quebec Zemmour, to Charlotte d'Ornellas (Valeurs currents).
CNews also anticipates the names of the finalists, favorites in the polls: two motorcycles will follow Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen.
Another alternative: follow the first round via the site of Parisian-Today in France with the display and the evolution of the results in real time.
Little extras: live with our journalists and our correspondents on Snapchat or even city-by-city results throughout France with the setting up of alerts and a dedicated search engine.
