The recent decision of the Council of State requesting reinforced control of channel pluralism will be
“
quite complicated
”
to implement, said the president of the public group France Télévisions, Delphine Ernotte Cunci, on Thursday before the deputies.
“
I understand the issue of pluralism, nevertheless, I wonder about how all this will be put in place ,
”
said Delphine Ernotte Cunci, interviewed by the National Assembly's commission of inquiry into the attribution TNT (digital terrestrial television) frequencies.
“
It seems to me, for example, impossible to ask an editorialist what his political color is at the moment ,
”
continued the leader, estimating
“
that an individual can vote in a certain way but have an opinion on another subject that differs
of the political party for which he
voted
.
“
It all seems quite complicated to me ,
”
continued Delphine Ernotte Cunci, judging that France Télévisions was already keen to ensure a
“
balance
”
was respected on its antennas.
However, she said she
"
trusts Arcom
"
(the audiovisual regulator, Editor's note) to
"
implement this in compliance with the essence of the 1986 law
"
on audiovisual, which is a
"
freedom of expression
law
.
Also read: Pluralism, independence… Arcom ordered to also count the airtime of presenters and columnists
“Circumspect”
On February 13, the Council of State ordered Arcom to strengthen its control of televisions and radios.
The decision of the highest administrative court followed an appeal by the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) concerning the news channel CNews, accused of being
"
an opinion media
"
marked by the extreme right, this which she disputes.
“
I understand the spirit of the decision of the Council of State, but am more circumspect about the letter and its application ,
”
Delphine Ernotte Cunci had already declared in an interview with the conservative monthly
Causeur
published on Wednesday.
Asked whether she would approve of someone who asked for
“
the closure of CNews ,
”
she replied:
“
No, I don’t want the death of CNews.
But it’s normal that she respects the rules, like everyone else
.
”
Furthermore, questioned by the deputies on the possibility of a holding company bringing together all public audiovisual and on the rapprochement projects of the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, Delphine Ernotte Cunci replied: “
I
fully support what she has proposed
"
.
According to her, this is a
“
pragmatic
”
position to allow public companies, including France Télévisions and Radio France, to
“
move forward
”
in a rapidly changing audiovisual sector.