“I could hide behind the international situation and the dramatic news which certainly did not make my task easier when I arrived, but It is clear that the public did not follow me as much as we hoped in this different role for me.” This Tuesday, December 26, 2023, Laurent Ruquier announced on his Instagram profile that he was leaving BFMTV, where he had hosted the 8 p.m. from Ruquier, a current affairs show co-presented with journalist Julie Hammet. According to The Parisian December 26, 2023, this decision was taken very late, so much so that the host did not have the opportunity to say goodbye to BFMTV viewers on air. However, he clarified the reasons for his decision in his publication on Instagram: “I do not regret having chosen BFMTV after having had to leave France Télévisions last June. I lived these three months as a fascinating experience and, if we have no reason to be ashamed of the audiences obtained in one quarter, it is clear that they do not live up to my expectations nor, for me , of the daily work that this represents.”
BFMTV: not the DNA of Laurent Ruquier?
In his publication on Instagram, the director of the channel and friend of Laurent Ruquier, Marc-Olivier Fogiel specified: “The audience (above what we did previously) is not the subject, what leads him to stop is the gap between the necessary investment and the pleasure he derives of what it can offer to viewers. I wanted to thank him for attempting this adventure. It’s only those who don’t try anything who are sure of achieving nothing.” On the social network, some of his colleagues, like Karine Le Marchand, praised his “introspection” and his “correctness”.
Among Internet users, many congratulated the host on this decision, because they felt that the channel was too far from the host’s DNA and that her “image of a man on the left did not fit at all with BFMTV”. For now, we still do not know on which channel viewers will be able to find Laurent Ruquier. The latter, however, clarified that he “only wants to continue making television if the pleasure is shared with viewers.” While waiting for new announcements, he still hosts The Big Heads daily on RTL and its play, The Mona Lisa finally speaks, will be performed from February 15, 2024 at the Théâtre de l’Œuvre, in Paris.