The tension rose a notch at Europe 1. At the end of a general meeting held on Friday June 18, the employees of the Lagardère group station voted to strike. Of the 95 ballots returned to the ballot box, 84 said they were in favor, only 9 were against. They were offered three choices: they could either stop work immediately, or start the strike on Sunday at 6 p.m., or start it on Monday, after election night. Finally, they chose to start the movement from 4 p.m. Friday, for the whole weekend, and until Monday inclusive. That day, they will meet in general assembly at 10 am to consider what will happen next. Employees must now declare themselves – strikers or non-strikers – to their hierarchical superior.
The latter ask “The annulment of the disciplinary proceedings initiated against Victor Dhollande”, a request already formulated Thursday, June 17. At around 12:30 p.m., Constance Benqué, the boss of the radio, wrote to the unions to refuse any backtracking, arguing that they did not know “The exact motivations” of the procedure nor “The nature of the alleged facts” to the journalist, according to a message read by The world.
Putting the editorial staff in line
The editor had an altercation Wednesday, June 16 with a member of human resources who secretly recorded a meeting of employees supposed to take stock of the situation of the station and the influence of Vincent Bolloré, who became the largest shareholder of Lagardère at Europe 1. Victor Dhollande, known for “His impulses” But “Unanimously appreciated”, had been laid off ten days, until June 30, with the key to a possible dismissal. The unions had been received by two human resources managers Thursday, June 17, who had justified the procedure by other events that had occurred previously. “It’s completely disproportionate. Until then, he hadn’t even had a warning ”, retorts a journalist.
For employees, this brutal layoff testifies above all to the desire of a shareholder to bring the editorial staff into line. “We have in front of us a direction which stiffens, which rears up, analyzes a member of the editorial staff. In any case, Constance Benqué no longer has the keys to the truck. “
“The match is over. I do not see any other possible scenario than that of i-Télé ”, says another member of the editorial staff. In 2016, the editorial staff of the news channel, owned by Vivendi (of which Vincent Bolloré is the largest shareholder), led a month-long strike, without however wavering the Breton billionaire. In the end, dozens of journalists left, and the channel changed its identity to become CNews. The management of Europe 1 hinted this week that, at the end of August, a sort of “conscience clause” – a device that allows a journalist to leave a media with which he no longer agrees – could be put in place. . This is a request from the editorial staff, who fear with fear a transformation of Europe 1 into a satellite of the very conservative CNews, while figures in the chain are already taking the lead in the grid.