Notice of disturbances on France Télévisions: strike movements are planned for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday against the establishment of regional news on France 3, instead of national editions, a change that the unions consider ill-prepared and “low cost”.
Bye-Bye the national news of 12/13 and 19/20, place Monday at “ICI 12/13” and “ICI 19/20”, the new information appointments carried out by the 24 regional branches of the network. But, internally, this abolition of national editions definitely does not pass. This is the third time that the unions have called for mobilization against the so-called “Tempo” project.
The National Syndicate of Journalists (SNJ) of France Télé alone filed a notice for Sunday September 3, the date of the last national news, and September 4, asking for the outright abandonment of the project or “at the very least its postponement for several month”. For its part, the CGT-CFDT-FO inter-union calls on all France Télé employees to stop work on September 4 and 5 to denounce the deployment of Tempo “as is” and make various demands, such as a passage every 35 hours over four days.
After the announcement of the reform by the management of France Télévisions in July 2022, a first call for a two-day strike was launched in September to denounce a “low cost regionalization” of information and a project of “social damage” . In July 2023, a second three-day strike caused disruptions on the regional antennas of France 3.
Opposite, Delphine Ernotte, president of France Télévisions, is convinced of the relevance of the change which “responds to a strong expectation of the public”. “People increasingly expect the public service to report on what is happening near their homes, especially what is positive there, such as the dynamics of territories and associative fabrics or the role of mayors in each of their municipalities”, she argued at the beginning of July, during a hearing before the Finance Committee of the National Assembly. But, as the broadcast of these new regional JTs approaches, which will continue to include topics on national and even international news, the tension is mounting.
“The management refused our request to put things back to have a serene deployment”, regrets Pierre Mouchel, secretary general CGT France Televisions, with AFP. But the numbers zeros made recently “revealed that things on the air were still very messy,” he believes.
The SNJ for its part anticipates “a crash”, reinforced by the “analysis of experts in psychosocial risks who predict an industrial accident”. “Returning from vacation, the employees of the regional network discover with dismay, in many regions, that we still do not know exactly what these endless news will be made up of”, explains the union in a press release published on Wednesday.
“We also have fears about the hearings,” adds Pierre Mouchel. “Many viewers are attached to their regional news. We are not sure that they necessarily welcome the mixture of the three: the national, the regional, the international”. Solicited by AFP, the management evokes the opening of “a major page in the history of France Televisions”. “This September 4, it is all the information of the group which evolves deeply towards more proximity”, “it is therefore normal” that this “raises concerns”.
“But the teams and all the employees concerned have been working on it for a year and we are ready”, we are assured. Pierre Mouchel of the CGT rather provides “a standoff that is likely to last”, particularly on the development of working conditions. “We will have to rethink a number of things”, underlines the trade unionist, not excluding “reviving the mobilization” in the event of unsuccessful negotiations.
