The franceinfo system for the European elections

Every week, listeners question the way in which franceinfo handles the news. Today’s coverage of the European elections between now and June. With Florent Guyotat, the deputy editorial director of franceinfo.

Guest of this new meeting with the mediator of the Radio France antennas, Emmanuelle Daviet, Florent Guyotat, deputy editorial director of franceinfo for a presentation of what franceinfo intends to highlight in its editorial coverage of the future European elections.

Emmanuelle Daviet: Generally speaking, what is your line for covering the European elections?

Florent Guyotat: So, we have a fundamental objective, which is to move away from coverage of elections that would remain solely French-speaking. Of course, you will hear the stories of the meetings, the interviews with the main French leaders. Because we must not hide it, these elections remain a test at the national level, as we soon reach the halfway point for Emmanuel Macron’s second five-year term.

So these European elections are an opportunity to measure the state of opinion in the country before the 2027 presidential election. But beyond this purely Franco-French aspect, we really want to focus on the substance, and also on European issues. This is why we are going to leave our borders, a few days before the elections, which will take place on Sunday June 9. We are planning a full European week from May 27 to June 2.

Every day, we will travel to a country of the Union: seven days in total and seven different countries: Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, Finland, Ireland. And every day, in each of these countries, we will have a large format report, a choice from Franceinfo in the morning on fundamental issues, agriculture of course, international competition, the environment. There is also concern about Russia, for countries located in the East like Finland and Poland. And every day also, we will be interested in the political situation in each of these countries. Which political forces are best placed to win?

And finally, we want to focus on youth: every day, in every country, a portrait of a young voter. It will be in Franceinfo 17/20. Be 20 years old in Germany, Poland, Portugal, etc. What does it mean ? What are the main aspirations? This is what you will be able to hear during this special week from May 27 to June 2 on franceinfo.

What the listeners note in their message is that the European institutions are often poorly known by voters. What do you plan to explain their role?

So on this, we want to make a real educational effort with our international editorial staff, the Radio France editorial staff, and our decryption unit. We are going to offer a lot of explanations and tutorials. What, for example, are the powers of the European Parliament and the deputies we elect, and how have these powers been strengthened over recent decades? That’s an important point to explain.

And it’s also true that our listeners sometimes have difficulty finding their way between the different institutions. What role for Parliament? What a difference with the European Commission or with the famous European councils which bring together heads of state and government, we will endeavor to explain this as clearly as possible until June 9.

You were talking earlier about the heads of the list and their interview. What exactly are you planning?

We are going to question the main French leaders at length and in substance. Starting this month, starting in March, you will have one-hour interviews. It’s a very long format on radio in the morning, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., it will be the 8:30 a.m. “franceinfo facing Europe”, we want to get out of the Franco-French fold. So there will of course be our usual interviewers, Salhia Brakhlia, Jérôme Chapuis, Agathe Lambret and Jean-Rémi Baudot, whom you hear very often on franceinfo.

But we are going to open our field to other journalists, to European colleagues, German, Italian, Belgian for example. They will join us to interview the main French leaders, and they will provide us with their insight, their in-depth expertise to confront the candidates with European issues, and above all to check that the candidates know what they are talking about. And once again, to get them out of this famous Franco-French fold and somewhere, out of their comfort zone.