Now presenter of the 8 p.m. news and political evenings of the first channel, Gilles Bouleau recently moderated with Léa Salamé the debate between the two rounds of the 2022 presidential election. His management chose him for what he is, as he confides this Friday to our colleagues from Parisian. And he even remembers a little joke that was made to him the day he was given the keys to the newspaper.
“Yes, of course, it will be you!”
Gilles Bouleau explains as follows: “I was Laurence Ferrari’s joker for almost a year when he left, nothing forced TF1 to leave me to start him and I knew that they were exploring several avenues. I didn’t have a great reputation but I was quite calm knowing that I had no control over this decision”.
But here, he says, “one morning during the editorial conference Catherine Nayl, then news director, asked me to come down to her office where she was waiting for me with us, this Paolini, the boss of TF1”. He remembers “Impassive, he (Nonce Paolini, editor’s note) spoke: ‘We have come to a decision concerning the 8 p.m. Listen, in the end, it won’t be you…’ And immediately: ‘But if, of course, it will be you!’“.
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Trapped but no doubt very happy, Gilles Bouleau has not forgotten the advice given to him by his superiors either. He quotes : “We chose you for what you are, so continue to do journalistically what you know how to do”. In fact, he retained:This meant that I shouldn’t try to smooth out my rough edges, or invent a character for myself”.
A faithful journalist
A great career for the one who arrived in 1986 at TF1, and who held many positions there. Gilles Bouleau started in the Economics and Social Services, Internal Policy, Investigations and Reports and General Information departments. He continued his career with reports (notably in Yugoslavia or on the Order of the Temple of the Sun), before becoming a major reporter. He was also in charge of LCI’s morning show, and 7 p.m. Sunday, on TF1. Finally, Gilles Bouleau was a correspondent in London and Washington, always for the same house.
FA