FRANCE 24 news coverage disrupted as staff strike against public media merger

A fierce debate is raging in France over reforming public media, and staff at FRANCE 24 parent company France Médias Monde as well as France Télévisions and Radio France are striking on Monday against a proposed merger of France’s public broadcasting sector championed by Culture Minister Rachida Dati.   

FRANCE 24 internet and TV journalists have joined the strike, which will cause a temporary disruption in news coverage on Monday and Tuesday.

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A new proposed holding company would unite France Médias Monde (FMM) with France Télévisions, Radio France and the National Audiovisual Institute (INA) under the direction of a single chief executive officer.

The government decided, however, that France Médias Monde, the international arm of the French public broadcasting system that includes FRANCE 24 and RFI, would be excluded from the scope of the holding company when the proposed reform was considered by lawmakers in June.

But unions say the government has “clearly” left the door open to the eventual integration of FMM into the holding company by 2028.  

The merger is strongly opposed by public broadcasting unions. 

Radio France launched an indefinite strike action on Thursday, calling the proposed holding "extremely dangerous" both for employees and for the independence of news coverage.

"Public broadcasting is a common asset whose strengths must be unified. Today, these forces are scattered," Dati told France’s private Sud Radio on Thursday, calling for "a coherent and coordinated strategy".

Prime Minister François Bayrou also threw his support behind the reform in comments to Radio Télévision Luxembourg on Sunday.

If the motion is defeated, Dati will face a full-fledged parliamentary battle led by Socialist MP Emmanuel Grégoire, who has tabled over 250 of the 935 amendments to the reform bill.

Due to the large number of amendments, it seems unlikely that the debate will proceed to a vote on either Monday or Tuesday. 

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)