The reform aimed at removing the national newspapers from France 3, which is due to come into force on September 4, has been contested by the unions of France Télévisions since its inception. They are calling for a three-day strike from Tuesday July 4 to try to prevent its implementation.
Called “Tempo”, this reform provides for the abolition of the national newspapers “12-13 hours” and “19-20 hours”, broadcast since 1986, and their replacement by twenty-four regional editions. These editions will include topics on national and even international news.
At the same time as the strike, this reform was challenged before the Paris court: social and economic committees (CSE) of France Télévisions took legal action to contest the way in which the management of the public group conducted the information-consultation procedure on the project. The decision is due on Tuesday, the first day of the strike.
A “low cost regionalization project” decried
“If you win, [la réforme] will be postponed for several months. But that won’t be enough for us.”said the seven unions (CGT, CFDT, FO, SNJ, CGC, South and UNSA) in their strike notice, which covers the days of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. ““Tempo” is a low cost regionalization project”they thunder, taking up a formula that they have hammered since the announcement of the project in July 2022.
The call for a strike risks upsetting the antennas of the public group, starting with France 2 and France 3, while the news is loaded with the riots which follow the death of Nahel M., and that the Tour de France 2023 , broadcast by the public service, began on Saturday.
“We hope that the strike will be followedtold Agence France-Presse Serge Cimino, union representative of the National Union of Journalists (SNJ). We consider that there are projects hidden behind the project. »
The unions are particularly concerned about the hypothesis of a merger of France 3 and the regional radio stations France Bleu in the years to come. Public audiovisual companies, including France Télévisions, are currently negotiating with the State their contracts of objectives and means (COM) for 2024-2028.
When presenting the reform in July 2022, Delphine Ernotte, CEO of France Télévisions, specified that it was a question of strengthening “anchoring” local newspapers of France 3, to meet the expectations of viewers. This project “does not obey a logic of savings”she had assured.