This is a first that was expected, and which apparently met with unanimous approval. This Friday, February 16, Maya Lauqué, usually at the helm of the weekends Telematinexceptionally gave way to Émilie Tran Nguyen, for a new tailor-made role: that of joker by Laurent Delahousse. The France 2 weekend 8 p.m. journalist, exceptionally absent, gave way to Maya Lauqué, and suffice to say that the journalist’s debut was crowned with success, both in terms of audience figures and in terms of critics. .
Indeed, Maya Lauqué’s first 8 p.m. show made a strong impression by bringing together 4.31 million viewers, i.e. a sharp increase of 420,000 viewers over one week. In terms of market share for four years and over, Maya Lauqué peaks at 22.7%, compared to 20.5% for Laurent Delahousse last Friday. Also, only 590,000 viewers separated Maya Lauqué from her main opponent of the weekend, Anne-Claire Coudray. These figures could not be more satisfactory for the holder of Télématin weekend, which has been all the more praised by the media and viewers.
In a candy pink outfit, replaced this Saturday by a bright red outfit, Maya Lauqué opted for very large files. A style diametrically opposed to that of his colleagues. The journalist chose to open her diary on the death of Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s main opponent, who died in unclear conditions in prison while serving a nineteen-year sentence for “extremism”. At France Télé, an executive, contacted by The Parisianreveals that the name of Maya Lauqué to replace Laurent Delahousse is not without reflection: “Objectively, it was up to par. It is bright and excellent. The idea of this life-size test, over the course of a weekend, has been on the mind of its management for a long time“ he says.
Thomas Sotto and Laurent Delahousse took their leave at the same time and at the same time
Other France Télévisions executives are keen to qualify the arrival of Maya Lauqué, affirming that it is temporary and will not last long. Thomas Sotto, Laurent Delahousse’s usual joker, had taken a vacation before Laurent Delahousse made his vacation known three weeks ago. Problem for management: the dates were the same. Management chose to let Thomas Sotto leave, aware that he has not been idle since the start of the school year, between the replacements of Laurent Delahousse, and the four-day-a-week animation of Telematin.
On Maya Lauqué and Laurent Delahousse courteously passed the torch to each other. While the incumbent welcomed his replacement for a weekend (for the moment), she wanted to thank him for the trust he placed in her: “Thank you dear Laurent for your support and encouragement. I am so happy and honored to be here this weekend. And what a great team at your side! Thank you, thank you.” So, will Maya Lauqué soon be back at 8 p.m. on France 2? Anne-Sophie Lapix, who has been working at 8 p.m. a week for almost seven years, could take over in the coming years…So, would you validate this choice?