BFMTV’s response was not long in coming. This Monday, October 30, 2023, in an internal press release sent to all BFMTV teams, and revealed by journalists Benoît Daragon and Clément Garinthe management of Altice, RMC and BFMTV announces that they will take to court the recent, widely reported outings of Jean-Jacques Bourdin, which targeted Marc-Olivier Fogiel by name: “While Mr. Jean-Jacques Bourdin is increasing public and unfounded attacks against his former employer and his former colleagues, Altice Media recalls having decided to cease all collaboration with him in 2022 following an in-depth and unequivocal internal investigation, including in particular the hearing of more than 35 people, former and current employees, former and current employees, former managers and partners of the company. This investigation had in fact forced Altice Media to immediately and definitively terminate contractual relations with Mr. Jean-Jacques Bourdin.”
Following this internal press release, management announces that it has filed a complaint against Jean-Jacques Bourdin for “denigration”: “The successive denigrations of Mr. Jean-Jacques Bourdin towards Altice Média, BFM, RMC, its employees and managers, will be the subject of appropriate legal proceedings. No additional comment is useful.”
A first outing at “Figaro” a few days ago
It must be said that Jean-Jacques Bourdin did not go there with the back of the spoon… Guest of TVMAG a few days ago, Anne Nivat’s husband had criticized Marc-Olivier Fogiel for an editorial shift at BFMTV that he did not understand, and which according to him would be the cause of the numerous departures from the channel (Bruce Toussaint, Pascale de la Tour du Pin, Aurélie Casse and Jean-Baptiste Boursier): “BFM has truly lost its identity. We no longer know what we will find. Before, it was very clear. It was the all-news channel. As soon as something happened, we were live, we tuned in. And then, there were deviations. We no longer know if it’s a celebrity TV show that devotes a lot of time to news stories. Suddenly, we switch to foreign countries. Marc-Olivier Fogiel has something to do with it“.
The fatal blow on France 5 this Sunday
And to continue, revealing the very complex relationships he maintained with Marc-Olivier Fogiel and which would have led him to leave RMC: “I have never had a headset or teleprompter, I have always refused that. And that exasperated Marc-Olivier Fogiel. Everyone is on earpiece with him. He would have liked to stick his nose in the political interview in the morning. Which I have always refused.” But these are actually the words that Jean-Jacques Bourdin said on the set of C Media this Sunday October 29, 2023 which ignited the powder and which pushed the management of BFMTV and the Altice group to react.
Faced with Mélanie Taravant and her two columnists Thierry Moreau and Benoît Daragon, the journalist hit the nail on the head: “I could no longer work with Marc-Olivier Fogiel…I have always been very independent in the way I work, always. I always chose my guests. I always prepared my questions. No one has ever come to insert themselves into my work. And I never accepted that… Whatever radio, television.” The media professional went further by affirming that he would be willing to join BFMTV on the sole condition of removing Marc-Olivier Fogiel: “I won’t go to BFM. But if Marc-Olivier Fogiel leaves, I will go to BFM”.