Journalist Céline Pigalle, hitherto editorial director of BFMTV, will take the helm on April 3 of the network of local public radio stations France Bleu, whose audiences have plunged, according to a press release published Monday by Radio France.
“
We need a new impetus for France Bleu.
I decided to entrust it to a great media professional.
Céline Pigalle knows radio and has managed major editorial
offices, ”said Sibyle Veil, CEO of Radio France, in an internal letter to employees cited in the press release.
Céline Pigalle, who spent 13 years at Europe 1 before joining Canal+, succeeds Jean-Emmanuel Casalta, who has directed France Bleu since September 2018.
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The hearings of France Bleu, at half mast, plunged between November and December, leading the union of journalists SNJ-Radio France to challenge the president of the public group to stop "
this infernal fall
".
"
These poor audience results weaken not only the network but the whole of Radio France, at a time when the financing and independence of public radio are at stake
," said the union.
A few months earlier, in September 2022, a motion of no confidence had been adopted against the information management of France Bleu.
Two journalists' unions (SNJ and SNJ-CGT) organizers of the election then denounced an editorial strategy deemed to be imposed from Paris without taking into account local specificities.
They also pointed to "
the brutality of the management
" of the direction of information.
Céline Pigalle began her career at Europe 1 as a reporter then correspondent in Berlin (2000-2004) and Brussels (2005-2007).
In 2008, she became editor-in-chief of the station, then, the following year, deputy editor-in-chief.
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In 2011, the journalist joined the Canal+ group as editor-in-chief of the show “
La Matinale
”.
In May 2012, she became editorial director of the continuous news channel iTELE (now CNews) then director of information for the Canal+ group in January 2014. Ousted in September 2015 by Vincent Bolloré when he took over the group Canal+, Céline Pigalle took over as editorial director of the news channel LCI (TF1 group) in February 2016. A position she left three months later before joining BFMTV, France's leading news channel, in December 2016 as editorial director.