As often, he cries out for “censorship”.
Eric Zemmour did not support the decision of the Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA) which asked radio and television channels on Wednesday evening to take into account the interventions of the editorialist "on the national political debate ".
The journalist "star" of CNews, who is preparing to promote his new book "France has not said its last word", could run for the 2022 presidential election. We take stock of this decision by the regulator , and the consequences it could have.
How does speaking time work?
One of the missions conferred by the law on the CSA is to protect "political pluralism", namely "to verify that the word of each political current is expressed in radio and television programs".
Outside the electoral campaign (this generally begins six weeks before the election), the executive power benefits from a third of the intervention time.
For other political tendencies, fairness prevails. That is to say that each formation has airtime corresponding to its "political weight", estimated from the results of the last elections, the number of elected officials, or even polls. The “contribution of political groups to the animation of political debate”, a criterion which is apparently a little vague, is also analyzed. The CSA specifies on its site that it also takes into account "possible exceptional situations linked to the news" and that it "will examine the respect for political pluralism over a sufficiently long period to smooth the effects of the news".
For each month, radio stations and television channels must transmit their statements of speaking and airtime, and the CSA conducts its checks over an entire quarter.
In April, TF 1, France 2 and France 3 for example granted a little less than 40% of the interventions in their television news to the presidential majority, and the rest to the other political parties.
Representatives of “Libres!
“, The movement of Valérie Pécresse (candidate for the primary of the right), for their part intervened for an hour in the newspapers of the BFMTV channel.
What exactly has the CSA decided?
From this Thursday, September 9, the CSA "asks the audiovisual media to count the interventions of Eric Zemmour relating to the national political debate".
This decision was taken following "recent developments", leading to consider that the columnist "could be regarded from now on, as much by his positions and his actions, as by the comments to which they give rise, as an actor of the national political debate ”.
#Political pluralism |
The @CSAudiovisuel asks the audiovisual media to count the interventions of Mr. Éric Zemmour on the national political debate: https://t.co/KgmifNfa2m pic.twitter.com/NVXjRFA7Tk
- CSA (@csaudiovisuel) September 8, 2021
If the CSA does not specify what these “recent developments” are, the very important promotion by Eric Zemmour of his new book as well as the upcoming book signing tour have certainly weighed in the balance.
“France is at a crossroads, but it has not said its last word.
I'm going to meet the French to present my new book to them, ”wrote the columnist on Twitter on September 1.
Three days later, he said "accept the invitation" of the mayor of Béziers Robert Ménard to debate with the president of the National Rally, Marine Le Pen, which he would "gladly" do.
Read alsoPresidential: the discreet shadow of Zemmour hangs over the back to school LR
“It is a necessary first step.
Everyone knows that Eric Zemmour is in a pre-campaign, without knowing if he will go to the end, ”reacts the deputy Matthieu Orphelin, in the forefront of this subject for several weeks.
The elected representative hopes that "other actions" will be taken.
This Tuesday, he notably asked the Campaign Accounts Commission to look into the financing of the journalist's daily program on CNews.
What will this change concretely?
All the channels on which Eric Zemmour works will therefore now have to count his speaking time in the “various right” political trend, the columnist not being affiliated with an existing political party.
In order to respect the famous "fairness", these media should in theory give more voice to other political tendencies.
The question will arise especially for the televisions on which Eric Zemmour intervenes very regularly, starting with CNews, which grants him an hour of air each evening in the program “Face à l'Info”.
The channel has not yet communicated on its decision to keep - or not - the polemicist as often on the air.
The latter should also increase the number of interviews next week to promote his book.
If the CSA notes "imbalances", it will begin by warning the media concerned so that it "corrects them as quickly as possible".
The authority then has the possibility of "putting in default" a television or radio channel which does not always respect the rules, then of "imposing a sanction if the warning is not followed up".
This can be, for example, a fine.
How did Eric Zemmour react?
With anger.
As when Instagram had deleted his account - an "error", the social network was justified - the columnist denounced a "censorship" on the part of the regulatory body.
"This intimidation undermines the exercise of my profession, and, worse, the principle of pluralism of ideas and expression, which the CSA is precisely supposed to ensure," he thundered in a statement shared on the social networks Wednesday evening.
He reproaches in particular the president of the CSA, Olivier Schrameck, to have until then defended the “editorial freedom of the media”, as in the Parisian last June.
Censorship: the CSA now takes over from the judges.
I will not be silent.
#STOPcensorship pic.twitter.com/2lRTj0g4jP
- Eric Zemmour (@ZemmourEric) September 8, 2021
Accusing the regulatory body of having "betrayed its mission" and "revealed its ideological bias", the one who was released on appeal that same Wednesday for anti-Islam and anti-immigration remarks made in 2019 concluded his letter by an "I will not be silent". “When he cries out censorship, he's really taking us for fools. This situation has never happened in France, ”said Matthieu Orphelin for his part.
