The audiovisual regulatory authority, Arcom, will take up the question of Emmanuel Macron’s speaking time in the European campaign from next week, after his speech on Thursday on Europe at the Sorbonne. The Head of State returned to the subject on Friday in front of journalists in Strasbourg: “It was a word from the President of the Republic yesterday. Afterwards, the rules are defined by others and that is very good and independent. “.
“But I think we should not be hypocritical on the subject. We must take responsibility for the policy we have pursued, the role that France has played in recent years and the fact that I have put Europe at the heart also of the project that is ours”, he added. TV and radio stations must transmit on Monday their countdown to date of the speaking times of each camp, in this European election campaign. “They will be examined and then published, after passing the plenary assembly, on the Arcom website,” the authority detailed to AFP. “Also, we are examining referrals close to the President of the Republic’s speaking time,” added an Arcom spokesperson.
The opposition is winding down
The Republicans wrote to the regulator on Thursday so that the entirety of this speech, which they describe as an “electoral propaganda operation”, be deducted from “the speaking time of the” Renaissance list. On Public Senate on Friday, the boss of the PS Olivier Faure also announced his intention to request Arcom: “It is curious that the Head of State, at this moment in the sequence, speaks, mobilizes the channels “. television, do it as if he were the head of his own list, but without being counted”. He mentioned “a subject of inequity between the candidates”.
The television channels themselves broadcast and some questioned the regulator, such as BFMTV. “We are awaiting Arcom’s decision,” the channel was informed. Since April 15, and as before each election, TV and radio stations are required to respect a principle of fairness in the treatment of political forces, before the examination on June 9.
Arcom did not give any specific instructions for this speech. The rules govern that interventions by the President of the Republic which “relate to the political debate linked to the elections, in particular those which involve the expression of support for a candidate or a list of candidates, a party or political group, will be subject of a separate statement” by the channels, compared to his other interventions unrelated to the election. The channels “take this into account by ensuring that other candidates, lists, parties or political groups benefit, in return, from fair access to the air”.