Back on the interview with Eric Zemmour Monday, November 22, in the morning. from franceinfo. Opinions are divided. Listeners found the interview excellent, without complacency, making it possible to confront the polemicist with his multiple contradictions, with a systematic reframing in the event of inaccurate remarks. Other listeners did not understand this invitation and believe that the antenna was forced to invite him.
Emmanuelle Daviet: Why did you invite Eric Zemmour, your listeners ask us?
Jean-Philippe Baille: So already, there was no constraint. It is an editorial choice to have invited Eric Zemmour. Let me explain. Why did you invite him? Because, as I could already tell your microphone, a few weeks ago, today, he is an actor in the campaign. He weighs in the electoral campaign, and I recall that since September 9, the Superior council of audio-visual asked all the media to count the speaking time of Eric Zemmour, because he considers him to be a personality Politics.
It is as such, as a political figure, as a candidate, that we received him. Moreover, it made no secret that he was going to be a candidate, during this interview. He has a campaign HQ, he has campaign posters. He holds public meetings that are more like meetings than anything else. And we are not going to hide, in the coming days, he will officially announce his candidacy.
So, it was normal for us, and for a news channel like Franceinfo to receive him, to invite him, to ask him our questions, and not to be dependent, again, on what can be said elsewhere, on what he can say in a rally or in a public meeting. We wanted to ask him our questions. That’s what we did. He is more and more a candidate. He will be, and of course we will receive him again, to ask him our questions and interview him, like all the other candidates.
On October 4, franceinfo kicked off the first edition of presidential mornings, a new format where, for two hours, the candidates for the Elysee Palace detail their program. The first guest was Xavier Bertrand. You also received Anne Hidalgo, Marine Le Pen.
And about presidential mornings, one listener writes: “Two hours is far too long for a continuous news radio station. It is a real change in the time slot, because if the subject is interesting, offering such a program from 7 am to 9 am is likely to disrupt the departure for the work of many people. “
As we know, radio listening habits are deeply rooted among listeners, and in particular in the morning. What are the objectives of this meeting?
Here again, it is an editorial choice, because we want to bring this presidential campaign to life according to our own values, that of explanation, analysis and contradiction, always putting the facts in front of political figures. This is why we confront candidates with our specialists from franceinfo, and who question them according to their area of expertise on the environment, health, international affairs, the economy, of course, politics and current affairs. . But that goes without saying.
But the will is this, it is to get to the bottom of things, to better understand the project of the candidates for France. And our approach is above all educational. We want to be able to ask our questions. We do not want to be at the mercy of the little phrase, the tweet or the political controversies that may come out here or there. We want to do our job for this election campaign here at franceinfo.
Emmanuelle Daviet: How do you respond to this listener who accuses you of breaking the format to which he is used every morning?
Jean-Philippe Baille: I admit that it can be unsettling for this listener and besides, I thank him for being a faithful listener, since he knows the mechanics of FranceInfo antenna. But again, and you said the right word, you have to have time to explain things or you have to give yourself time, take the time, take the time to stand back and to be able to get to the bottom of things. This is what we do with this meeting of presidential mornings.
First of all, it is not every week, and it is only declared candidates who we know will play an important role in this campaign, who are our guests. Then, despite everything, I would like to remind you that all our antenna mechanics, here again, are maintained every half hour, with our newspapers, like every morning on franceInfo, and every ten minutes, the Info threads, which remind us of the topicality. We are trying to keep you up to date with the latest news, but also to get to the bottom of things, once again giving ourselves time to question the candidates.