On Sunday April 10, Anne-Claire Coudray will co-present with Gilles Bouleau a short election evening from 6:30 p.m. headline news.
You will be with Gilles Bouleau, as five years ago, at the helm of the evening of the results of the first round of the presidential election. Why, for the first time in this type of election, will it stop at 9:20 p.m.?
Anne-Claire Coudray: We realized that only the first hour counts. We can still draw the line until 11 p.m. but we believe that viewers need efficiency. In addition, there is a fact that also explains our decision, it is that we are a group with a channel called LCI.
In 2017, you had not opted for this formula…
Precisely, when you look at the audience curves for 2017, we can feel that interest is decreasing. A 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., for a first round, that’s enough.
At this point, do you already know who will be on set?
We will only have the candidates in duplex when they make their declarations. But we will receive for example Gabriel Attal for LaREM, Jordan Bardella for the National Rally, Eric Ciotti for the Republicans, Clementine Autain for LFI, Delphine Batho for Les Verts… For the second set, from 8:45 p.m., we don’t know yet.
For the second round, will you also adopt a shortened formula?
Nothing is decided but I don’t think so. Once the President of the Republic is elected, the evening takes on another dimension.
This year, isn’t it more difficult to excite the French for the presidential election when the war in Ukraine seems to bog down?
I think that this war in the heart of Europe has, on the contrary, confronted us with fundamental political questions which were not necessarily those which we expected in November. But “the sovereign”, that’s it: we are about to vote for a president or a president who will have to manage this kind of crisis.
Your news broke a new record with 7.3 million viewers on February 27. How do you interpret this score?
By the amazement of the French. The television news becomes a refuge because we have a collective need to understand. We all transfer. I myself had a hard time continuing to lead a normal life. These people had, a few weeks ago, the same lives as us, children who wear the same anoraks as ours… Seeing them walking on the roads by the millions was a real shock.
As a former reporter, don’t you sometimes want to cover the Ukrainian conflict on the spot?
I often itch to take the plane, especially since I have lots of friends who have left. My cameraman brother-in-law also went to Ukraine (he works for C in the air, like Anne-Claire Coudray’s sister, Élisa, journalist, editor’s note). I found myself really looking forward to him coming home. To say that at the time when my mother told me not to take too many risks, I was annoyed by this kind of thinking… (She smiles.)
France 2a relocated his JT there with Anne-Sophie Lapix. Do you want to do the same at TF1?
We have not relocated directly in recent years because it is very expensive. There really has to be added value. At the weekends, we make special pages (United States, Mali…).
In September, you will celebrate your seven years of tenure on TF1 weekend news. Do you say to yourself “already!” ?
Oh yes ? It’s dizzying. It takes so long to really feel comfortable, to find your place, your style. I’m just reaching maturity, when the pleasure finally exceeds the effort.
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