Bertrand Renard and Arielle Boulin-Prat will not be settled for many months on their industrial tribunal dispute with France Télévisions.
In fact, the case was referred to a professional judge on Friday.
Ousted in mid-2022, the specialist in calculations and that of words from
“Numbers and Letters”
, for 47 years and 36 years respectively, demanded before the Paris industrial tribunal the requalification of their past fixed-term contracts on a permanent contract, and the recognition of a
“null break”
, with compensation at stake.
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“Can we maintain that this program, which has existed since the ORTF, is temporary?”
, argued their lawyer, Me Juliette Mascart.
For its part, France Télévisions explained the use of these fixed-term contracts, common in the profession, by the fact that
“the renewal of a program in a schedule is re-examined each year”.
But on this issue, the four industrial tribunal advisors were unable to reach an agreement.
A new hearing must be set, known as a
“departure”
, with the support of a professional magistrate.
Also read: Ousted from “Des figures et des lettres”, Arielle Boulin-Prat and Bertrand Renard are demanding more than a million euros from France Télévisions
“Constrained and forced”
departure
Previously daily, “Des figures et des lettres” has only been broadcast on weekends at the end of the afternoon on France 3, since the start of the 2022 school year. Bertrand Renard and Arielle Boulin-Prat then denounced a “
forced” departure.
and forced”
of this game with exceptional longevity (half a century under the clock), while France Télévisions had requested a 60% salary cut.
“We didn't slam the door, we were fired
,” insisted Arielle Boulin-Prat on Friday to the press, recalling that the remuneration per broadcast amounted to 240 euros gross.
Also read: “We were transferred to video in 10 minutes”: Arielle Boulin-Prat’s revelations on her departure from “Numbers and Letters”
When their ouster was announced, the two referees received the support of many viewers.
Bertrand Renard, 68, has since launched a cultural blog, while Arielle Boulin-Prat, 70, volunteers in associations.
They were replaced by a former candidate, Stéphane Crosnier, and a school teacher, Blandine Maire, alongside the main host of the game, Laurent Romejko, who has held this role since 1992.